The Imminent Implementation of CAA: A Union Minister's Bold Prediction

In a bold assertion, Union minister Shantanu Thakur, BJP's Lok Sabha MP from Bangaon, declared at a public rally in South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) will be implemented across India within the next seven days. Thakur, while addressing the gathering, drew parallels with the recent inauguration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, emphasizing that the CAA would soon be a reality nationwide.

The CAA, introduced by the Narendra Modi government, aims to grant Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014. The legislation has been a source of significant controversy since its passage in December 2019, triggering protests and political debates across the country.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on December 27 last year, asserted that the implementation of the CAA was inevitable, dismissing any hindrance to the law. Shah accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading the public on the matter. The CAA has been a contentious issue, with the Trinamool Congress, led by Banerjee, strongly opposing it.

The BJP's commitment to implementing the CAA was a crucial aspect of its electoral strategy in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in West Bengal. The party attributes its rise in the state to the promise of implementing this controversial legislation.

Despite the assurances, the manual of parliamentary procedures indicates that rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of presidential assent, or an extension should be sought from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Since 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs has regularly sought extensions from parliamentary committees for framing the rules associated with the CAA.

The passage of the CAA in 2019 resulted in widespread protests, leading to the loss of more than a hundred lives. However, in the past two years, over 30 district magistrates and home secretaries from nine states have been empowered to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act of 1955.

The annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2021-22 reveals that from April 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, a total of 1,414 foreigners belonging to these non-Muslim minority communities were granted Indian citizenship. Notably, no district authorities in Assam and West Bengal, where the issue is politically sensitive, have been bestowed with such powers as of now.

As Shantanu Thakur's guarantee echoes through the political landscape, the imminent implementation of the CAA is poised to reshape the narrative and spark renewed discussions on its implications for the nation.