Motihari (Bihar):

Deviating from the official line of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Janata Dal (United) leader Khalid Anwar on Sunday said the law, guaranteeing permanent residency to members of persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, will not be implemented in Bihar.

The remark assumes significance as the JD(U) partners with the BJP and other allies in the ruling NDA coalition in the state.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Mr Anwar claimed that JD(U) chief and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has ruled out the implementation of the CAA in Bihar.

“The CAA will not be implemented in Bihar. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already made it clear that all 13 crore residents in the state are Biharis and there is no need for the CAA, NRC (National Register of Citizens) or NPR (National Population Register) here. As long as Nitish-ji remains in power, no one needs to worry about the CAA,” Mr Anwar told reporters at a press conference in Motihari on Sunday.

Amid the Opposition furore over the notification of rules for the implementation of the CAA last week, the JD(U) leader sought to dispel fears of loss of citizenship, saying that the law merely intended to give permanent residentship to religious minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, who are living in the country as refugees, and not take away anyone’s citizenship.

“Those instilling fear among people that their citizenship will be taken away are spreading falsehoods,” he added.

Supporting his argument that there was no need for the CAA to be rolled out in Bihar, the minority leader said the previous Nitish Kumar-led government passed a resolution in the Assembly that neither the NRC nor the NPR would be implemented in the state.

“I would like to reiterate that as long as Nitish Kumar is in power, no one from Bihar, irrespective of their religion, will be deprived of their citizenship. During the previous government, we passed a resolution in the Assembly that there is no need for NPR or NRC in Bihar and such laws will not be implemented here,” Mr Anwar said.

His statement could ruffle feathers in the ruling NDA, as it pointed to a clear dissonance between CM Nitish and his coalition partners, especially the BJP, on implementing a crucial piece of legislation.
Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) notified rules for implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), days ahead of the announcement of the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections.

The act aims to provide citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014.

“I spoke on CAA at least 41 times on different platforms, clarifying that the minorities of the country need not be afraid because it has no provision to take back the rights of any citizen. The CAA aims to confer Indian citizenship on persecuted non-Muslim migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians, who migrated from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and arrived in India before December 31, 2014. This law aims at ending the sufferings that they have endured for long,” Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in an interview with ANI earlier.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Union Home Ministry could issue a notification to implement the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act later tonight, sources told NDTV Monday afternoon. 

This comes less than a month after Home Minister Amit Shah stressed the CAA will be implemented before the Lok Sabha election, which is due in April/May. “CAA is an act of the country… it will definitely be notified. CAA will come into effect before the election (and) nobody should be confused about this,” Mr Shah said at an event in Delhi.

The CAA – which makes religion, for the first time, a test of citizenship for “persecuted” non-Muslim refugees from Muslim-majority nations like Pakistan and Bangladesh – was cleared by Parliament in December 2019 amid violent protests across the country.

The epicentre of these agitations, which saw lakhs across India take to the streets, was in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, where thousands of men and women staged a months-long protest that drew the attention of celebrities like Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters.

Mr Shah last month sought to play down fears the CAA, and the equally contentious NRC, or National Register of Citizens, will be combined to target minority communities.

“Our Muslim brothers are being misled and instigated (against the CAA), which is only meant to give citizenship to those who came to India after facing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It is not for snatching anyone’s citizenship.”

Meanwhile, as the CAA nears notification (and implementation), opposition politicians have spoken out, insisting it will not be enforced in their respective territories.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in January that the Bharatiya Janata Party – bidding for a third consecutive term at the centre – had raised the issue now for votes.

“With elections approaching, the BJP has again raked up the CAA issue to reap political benefits. But let me make it very clear, as long as I am alive, I will not allow its implementation in Bengal,” she said at a public event in Uttar Dinjapur district.

Ms Banerjee’s Tamil Nadu counterpart, MK Stalin, was similarly emphatic.

Accusing the BJP-led government’s actions of going “against communal harmony”, the DMK boss vowed that his administration would never implement the law. 

Several other non-BJP ruled states, such as Kerala and Punjab, also opposed the CAA, with many passing resolutions; Bengal and Kerala also stopped all NPR and NRC work.