Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee welcomes CAA notification

Amritsar (Punjab): The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has welcomed the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 after the centre notified rules on Monday.

"I welcome the decision which is taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is a good decision for Sikhs whose religion was converted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh," said Gurcharan Singh Grewal, spokesperson of SGPC.

The Citizenship Amendment Bill was passed by Parliament in December 2019.

Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 enable persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for the grant of Indian citizenship and applications will be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided by the government.

The Centre notified the rules for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act on Monday.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries--Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, of six minority communities there.

Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh questioned the timing of the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act and asserted that it was timed ahead of the general polls to polarise the voters in Assam and West Bengal.

"It took them 4 years and 3 months to bring this rule. The Bill was passed in December 2019. The law should have been formed within 3-6 months. Modi Government sought nine extensions from the Supreme Court and took 4 years and 3 months before notifying the rules last night," Jairam Ramesh said.

(ANI)