Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Gujarat: Assembly elections are due in Gujarat later this year. Earlier, the Union Home Ministry has taken a big decision regarding citizenship. Minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan living in two districts of Gujarat, Anand and Mehsana, will be given Indian citizenship. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a notification regarding this.
Citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955
According to the notification of the Union Home Ministry, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian people coming from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and currently residing in Anand and Mehsana districts of Gujarat will be given Indian citizenship under the Citizenship Act 1955. . These people were living as refugees in Gujarat for a long time.
Certificate of citizen of the country will be given
According to the notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs, under Section 6 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the provisions of the Citizenship Rules, 2009, all of them will be allowed to register as citizens of India or they will be given a certificate of citizen of the country.
Applications must be submitted online
It has also been said in the notification that such people residing in these two districts of Gujarat will have to submit their applications online, which will be verified by the collector at the district level. The application and the report thereon shall be simultaneously made available online to the Central Government. The Collector may, if deemed necessary, conduct any kind of inquiry to ascertain whether the applicant is fit for citizenship.
Announcement for Gujarat elections can be done anytime
In fact, this move of granting citizenship under the Citizenship Act, 1955, instead of the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, is extremely important. In such a situation, it is also being linked to Gujarat elections. The dates for the assembly elections in Gujarat can be announced at any time.
Significantly, in the CAA passed in 2019, there is a provision to give citizenship to the minorities of the three countries. However, the CAA has not been implemented yet, as rules are yet to be made under it, so no one can be given citizenship under it.
