NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been given an extension for the seventh time to frame rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 Reportedly, the concession to the MHA has been granted by the Rajya Sabha for the next six months and is still waiting to get approval from the Lok Sabha.
MHA has apparently said that they have approached the Parliamentary committees, seeking more time. The Parliament passed the Citizenship Amendment Bill on December 11, 2019, and it was notified the next day by the Home Ministry after getting the President’s assent.
The CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014. However, the law is yet to be implemented as rules under the CAA are yet to be framed.
Before this, the ministry had sought extensions from the Parliamentary Committees six times, with the first extension being granted in June 2020. Earlier, the Parliamentary committees on subordinate legislation in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha granted the extension to the Home Ministry until December 31, 2022, and January 9, 2023, respectively.
The manual on Parliamentary Work states that in case the ministries or departments are not able to frame the rules within the prescribed period of six months after the President signs off on a law, “they should seek extension of time from the Committee on Subordinate Legislation stating reasons for such extension”, which cannot be more than a period of three months at a time.