Centre gets extension to frame CAA rules for 7th consecutive time

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha committee has accepted the Centre's request for six more months to frame rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) for the seventh time in a row.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said that more time was needed to frame the rules of the Act, without which it could not be implemented.

The decision of the Lok Sabha committee is still awaited.

According to sources, the time was extended by the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation in the Rajya Sabha till December 31, 2022 and in the Lok Sabha till January 9, 2023.

Sources said that the MHA sought an extension of six months, on which the Rajya Sabha committee extended it till June 30.

While attending a programme in November, last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that there had been a delay in implementing the Act due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He added that the CAA would definitely be implemented and those who thought otherwise would be proved wrong.

The Act was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019 and got the President's assent the very next day, following which it was notified by the MHA.

About 83 persons died and several were injured in the protests against this law in the country.

Significantly, through the CAA, the Central government will grant Indian citizenship to the illegal migrants who entered India before or on December 31, 2014.

It was passed for the migrants of non-Muslim communities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.