CAA gets rolling, first set of 14 people granted citizenship
New Delhi, May 15 (PTI) The first set of citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was issued Wednesday here to 14 people, nearly two months after rules under the contentious law were notified to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from three neighbouring countries.
Sources said 14 people were handed over the certificates symbolically at a special function held here while digitally signed certificates are also being sent to a “few hundred” other applicants through email.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed it a “historic day”, saying the decades-long wait of those who faced religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan is over.
Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla handed over the certificates to the 14 people after their applications were processed online through a designated portal, an official spokesperson said.
This comes in the midst of the general elections which started on April 19. The last phase of polling will be held on June 1 while the counting will take place on June 4.
The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014.
