Indian Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections. The CAA was passed by the Parliament in December 2019, but it has not yet been implemented due to protests and legal challenges.
The CAA provides a pathway to citizenship for non-Muslim immigrants from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan who entered India before December 31, 2014. However, it has been criticized for being discriminatory against Muslims, reports Times of India.
Shah announced at an event. He said, “The CAA will be implemented before the Lok Sabha elections. We are committed to providing citizenship to persecuted minorities from our neighboring countries.”
The CAA has been a controversial issue since it was passed. Critics say that it is discriminatory against Muslims and violates the Indian Constitution. They also argue that it will create a two-tier system of citizenship, with Muslims being treated as second-class citizens.
The government has defended the CAA, saying that it is necessary to protect persecuted minorities from neighboring countries. They also argue that it does not violate the Constitution and that it will not create a two-tier system of citizenship.
The implementation of the CAA is likely to be met with protests and legal challenges. It is unclear at this time when or how the Act will be implemented.
According to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center, 72% of Indians believe that the CAA is discriminatory against Muslims. The survey also found that 63% of Indians believe that the CAA will create a two-tier system of citizenship.
