CAA India Live Updates: PM Modi honoured Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain refugees, says Amit Shah

People who had participated in the months-long anti-CAA protests in Delhi opposed the Centre’s notification on Monday to implement the law and said they feel their struggle has failed. Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh were epicentres of the anti-CAA protests in 2019-2020. The bill was passed in Parliament on December 11, 2019, leading to protests across the country, including Delhi.

During the protests, police had barged into the Jamia campus in pursuit of some alleged miscreants who had set buses on fire. The police personnel were accused of attacking students in the university library on December 15, 2019.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she would fiercely oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) if she found it to be discriminatory against groups of people living in India and if it curtailed their existing citizenship rights in any manner.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday attacked the Centre for notifying the rules of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, terming it as BJPs’ game of distraction. “When the citizens of the country are forced to go out for livelihood, then what will happen by bringing ‘citizenship law’ for others? The public has now understood the BJP‘s game of politics of distraction,” Yadav said in a post on X.

“The BJP government should explain why lakhs of citizens gave up their citizenship of the country during their 10 years of rule. No matter what happens tomorrow you have to give account of ‘Electoral Bond’ and then also of the ‘care fund’,” Yadav added.

These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship.

https://twitter.com/DDNewslive/status/1767180096551702884

Officials have reported increased security measures in northeast Delhi, Shaheen Bagh, Jamia, and other sensitive areas across the national capital following the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) on Monday. Police officers and paramilitary forces have been deployed in various locations, and flag marches have been conducted in parts of northeast and southeast Delhi.

Islamic Centre of India Chairperson Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali says, “We want to appeal to everyone to stay calm and not panic. Our legal team will look into this, and further decisions will be taken.”

Reacting on the CAA notification, Trinamool State General Secretary Tanmoy Ghosh said the way the Centre has notified the rules ‘without discussing with Opposition parties will have strong repercussions.’

Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be notifying today, the Rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA-2019). These rules, called the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 will enable the persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for grant of Indian citizenship. The applications will be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided.

In Assam, the CAA is perceived as a breach of the 1985 Assam Accord, which specified that only individuals who migrated into the state before March 24, 1971, would be recognized as citizens. The CAA, however, established a different cut-off date for citizenship eligibility, setting it at December 31, 2014. Additionally, it is viewed as conflicting with the entire process of the NRC enumeration in Assam, which was conducted to identify and expel illegal immigrants.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee says that she will oppose the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) if it discriminates against groups of people. She also said that both the CAA and the NRC are sensitive to West Bengal and the Northeast. Mamata Banerjee said she does not want unrest before the Lok Sabha elections.

After intense speculations, Modi govt has notified the CAA rules, confirms Doordarshan

As per the Manual on Parliamentary Work, rules for any legislation must be formulated within six months of presidential assent, or the government must request an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Since 2020, the Home Ministry has been periodically seeking extensions from the parliamentary committee for drafting the rules.

Ahead of the crucial address, PM Modi took to X and posted a message for the DRDO scientists on success of ‘Mission Divyastra’. “First flight test of indigenously developed Agni-5 missile,” PM Modi said in the post on X.

Following the passage of the Bill, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) swiftly lodged a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, contesting the constitutionality of the CAA.

PMO has reprtedly said that PM Modi will be speaking on an ‘important’ issue. However, there’s no clarity on the agenda of the address to the nation so far.

The CAA law could not come into effect since 2019 as rules have to be notified by the Union Home Ministry for its implementation.

Since its passage, the CAA has encountered considerable opposition, with detractors branding it discriminatory and advocating for its abolition. The Muslim community, alongside several opposition factions, has been outspoken in condemning the law, expressing apprehensions regarding its potential impact on secularism and minority rights.

On December 11, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was passed by Parliament, thereby transforming into the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The CAA was formally notified on January 10, 2020.

Passed in December 2019 and put into effect in January 2020, the law allows for the granting of citizenship to eligible migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who belong to six minority communities. Notably, Muslims are not included in this list of eligible migrants, leading to widespread protests across the nation after its passage in Parliament. (Read More)

Hello and welcome to our live coverage on the special announcement regarding the CAA rules. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to address the nation shortly.