Govt rolls out CAA website, controversial law implemented

NEW DELHI: A special web portal to apply for Indian citizenship has started working within 24 hours after the notification of the Citizenship Amendment Act. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also announced about introduction of a mobile app to ease the operations of citizenship.

The law was notified taking into account the flurry of petitions reaching the Supreme Court asking to stymie the law and also considering the huge protests planned by opposition parties ahead of the elections. Modi government had earlier paused moving ahead with implementing CAA even after the bill turned law in 2020. It was shrewdness of the highest order as the government now decided to leave away the ambiguity surrounding the law and notify it just at the brink of the LS elections.

Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis who came to India from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014, can apply for Indian citizenship through the portal.

Required Documents:

• Passport: Copy of passport issued by Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan government.
• Birth Certificate: Registration Certificate issued by Foreigners Regional Registration Officer or Foreigners Registration Officer, Residential Permit, Birth Certificate issued by Afghanistan and Bangladesh Government Agency.
• Educational Certificate: Certificate issued by the authority of any of the schools/colleges/ board /universities in those countries.
• Identity Document: Any form of Identity Document/Licence/Certificate/Land or Tenancy Documents issued by government agencies of the three countries