Union home ministry on Monday notified rules to operationalise the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, enacted four years ago in the teeth of resistance from opposition parties, civil society groups, and others.
The notification of Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, marks the fulfilment of an important promise in BJP's 2019 manifesto and will make nationals of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who migrated to India before Dec 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution, eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. For citizenship by naturalisation, the aggregate period of residence was cut under CAA to “not less than five years” from “not less than 11 years”.
Soon after CAA was enacted in Dec 2019, violent protests had broken out in many parts of India, with many terming it a law meant to disenfranchise and deport Muslims lacking valid citizenship papers.
Govt has repeatedly said CAA will not take away citizenship of any Indian, irrespective of his or her religion. “This Act is only for those who have suffered persecution for years and have no other shelter in the world except India,” a senior home ministry official said.
“It will remove legal barriers to rehabilitation and grant of citizenship to eligible refugees from the three neighbouring countries, giving them a chance to lead dignified lives after decades of suffering. Citizenship rights will protect their cultural, linguistic and social identity; give them economic rights, including for purchase of property; and enable their free movement,” the official added.
Opposition parties criticised govt's decision, which had been anticipated for at least a couple of months now, for its timing, coming as it does days ahead of the impending announcement of Lok Sabha poll schedule. BJP celebrated it as a proof of its commitment to “walk the talk”, with party circles flagging it as another instance of the saffron outfit standing by “persecuted” Hindus and others. However, PM Modi did not react to the development.
PIO card validity extended up to Dec 31, 2024
Indian Immigration will accept all PIO cards, alongwith a valid foreign passport, as a valid travel document till December 31, 2024, instead of the earlier deadline of December 31, 2023. This extension of timeline is subject to the condition that if in the meantime, any deadline is notified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) thereby making handwritten PIO cards invalid, then PIO cardholders may have to obtain appropriate visa from Indian Missions/Posts.
All PIO cardholders with valid PIO cards as on January 9, 2015 are, meanwhile, advised to convert their PIO card to OCI card at the earliest.