By TNN
NEW DELHI: Two days ahead of last phase of polling, process of granting citizenship to Hindu migrants in Bengal has commenced with the state’s empowered committee – the final authority under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, to confer citizenship to Pakistani, Bangladesh and Afghanistan citizens belonging to their six religious minorities -approving the first set of applications.
Similar first sets of applications were also approved on Tuesday in Haryana and Uttarakhand by their respective empowered committees. The process of grant of citizenship by the empowered committee in Delhi had started earlier, with the Union home secretary having handed over the first set of certificates to applicants on May 15, 2024, even as the digitally signed certificates were issued via email.
The rollout of citizenship under CAA in Trinamool Congress-governed state comes despite chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s warning at the time of notification of CAA Rules in March this year. “If there is any discrimination, we won’t accept it….be it religion, caste, or linguistic. They (central govt) won’t be able to give citizenship to anyone in two days. This is just lollipop and show-off,” she had said while dismissing the notification of CAA rules as an election gimmick.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.
