NEW DELHI: While rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) are yet to be notified, an annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the law does not apply to Indian citizens. According to the report, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) is a limited and narrowly-tailored legislation that seeks to provide a relaxation to specific communities from specified countries with a clear cut-off date, taking a compassionate and ameliorative view.
The contentious CAA, enacted in 2019, aims to grant citizenship to foreign nationals belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who faced persecution in neighbouring countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The law is yet to be implemented.
“The CAA is a limited and narrowly tailored legislation which seeks to provide a relaxation to aforesaid specific communities from the specified countries with a clear cut-off date. It is a compassionate and ameliorative legislation,” the MHA annual report said. It added the CAA does not apply to Indian citizens and does not take away their rights.