GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday, July 15 that only eight individuals had applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the state, four months after the rules were notified.
ALSO READ: Assam: Police Officer Apprehended Over Bribery Charges In South Salmara
He criticised anti-CAA protest leaders for exaggerating claims that up to 50 lakh illegal immigrants could gain citizenship under the amended law.
The CAA, passed in 2019, aims to grant Indian citizenship for Hindus, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan before December 31, 2014. However, the response in Assam has been minimal. "Only eight people have applied for citizenship under the CAA. Of these, only two have attended their interviews," Sarma stated at a press conference.
Sarma explained that many members of the Bengali Hindu community, who are not listed on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), are not applying for citizenship under the CAA. "They say they came to India before 1971," he said, referring to the cut-off year for citizenship in Assam.
Reflecting on the massive protests against the CAA in Assam, Sarma noted that he initially believed at least two to three lakh people would apply for citizenship under the amended law, but only two individuals had attended their interviews.
"Anti-CAA protest leaders claimed that 30 to 50 lakh illegal immigrants would get citizenship under this law, but the real number of applicants is much lower," Sarma remarked.
CAA INSTRUCTIONS
Meanwhile, Assam Border Police have received instructions from the state Home department not to forward members belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Budhist, Jain, Christian and Parsi communities who entered India before December 31, 2014 to Foreigners Tribunal.
Instead, they should be asked to apply through an online portal for citizenship under CAA.