Citizenship Bill

Subramanian Swamy's petition alleges that Gandhi violated Article 9 of the Indian Constitution by 'voluntarily disclosing' to the British authorities that he held British citizenship

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted BJP leader Subramanian Swamy time to file a copy of petition pending before the Allahabad High Court on the issue of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's citizenship. The court was informed by Swamy that he had obtained the copy of the petition and the prayers in that matter are different from that of his pleadings. A bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the petitioner to file the documents in electronic form in compliance with its last order and listed his plea for further hearing on November 6. The bench was hearing a plea by Swamy seeking directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to decide his representation seeking cancellation of Rahul Gandhi's Indian citizenship. Swamy, in his plea, also sought a direction to the MHA to furnish a status report on the representation filed by him against Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. At the outset, Swamy submitted that the matter pending before .

The Centre has expanded the ambit of the rules issued under the citizenship law CAA through which Indian nationality will be given to persecuted minorities coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh or Pakistan. The Union home ministry announced that "any document" issued by the central or state governments or quasi-judicial body in India proving that either of the parents, grandparents or great-grandparents is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries will be acceptable. The clarification of the home ministry came after many applicants seeking Indian nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 were reported to be facing difficulties due to a particular clause of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. "Any document that shows that either of the parents or grandparents or great grandparents of the applicant is or had been a citizen of one of the three countries i.e of Afghanistan or Bangladesh or Pakistan," the earlier clause of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 202

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said only eight people have applied for citizenship under the CAA from the state so far. Speaking at a press conference here, Sarma noted that out of these applicants, only two have proceeded to attend interviews with relevant authorities. The Centre on March 11 implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 CAA by notifying the rules, four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014, and stayed here for five years. "We conducted outreach programmes in the Barak valley and approached many-Hindu Bengali families and asked them to apply for citizenship under CAA. However, they refused to do so saying that they would prefer fighting their cases at the Foreigners Tribunal (FT)," Sarma said. Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies exclusive to Assam to decide the nationality issu

Account aggregator framework facilitates data sharing between individuals and service providers, holding immense potential for the financial sector

The Tripura government has constituted a six-member state-level empowered committee with Director Census Operations, as chairman to grant citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019, an official said on Friday. The CAA was enacted in December 2019 for granting Indian nationality to persecuted Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India on or before December 31, 2014. "Following directives from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the state-level empowered committee for granting Indian citizenship under the CAA has been formed," Director, Census Operations, Rabindra Reang told PTI. He said all District Magistrates of the state have been asked to constitute district-level empowered committees to receive applications under the CAA and undertake scrutiny before forwarding it to the state-level empowered panel. Reang said residents who are living under the areas of Sixth schedule areas (Tribal Areas Autonomous

CAA grants Indian citizenship to persecuted migrants, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she will not allow implementation of the CAA, NRC and the Uniform Civil Code in the state. Addressing a gathering here on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, she claimed that some people will try to "engineer riots" during elections and urged those who participated in the programme "not to fall prey to the plot". Eid-ul-Fitr marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan. "We will not accept the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, National Register of Citizens and Uniform Civil Code. If we will live unitedly, nobody will be able to cause harm to us," Banerjee said while addressing the gathering at the Red Road. She asserted that her party TMC's fight is against the BJP. "We will decide about the INDIA bloc later. But in Bengal, please see that no vote goes to any other party," the TMC supremo said. She also slammed the BJP government at the Centre for "using the central probe agencies against the opposition parties". TMC nation

The indigenous people of Assam can never accept the CAA, which will be a critical issue in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, asserted Dibrugarh parliamentary constituency's opposition candidate Lurinjyoti Gogoi. The illegal influx of foreigners has been a long-standing cause for concern in Assam, and the BJP has now legalised it with this act, which is unacceptable to the people, Gogoi told PTI in an interview, amid campaigning here. "Assam has borne the burden of illegal foreigners till 1971, and now, another 43 years till 2014 has been added to it, he said. "How can the people accept this? There was a long-drawn agitation in the state against illegal influx and with the CAA, the identity of the Assamese is at stake, Gogoi claimed. The United Opposition Forum Assam (UOFA) had announced Gogoi, the Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) president, as the candidate for the Dibrugarh Lok Sabha seat, from where Union minister Sarbananda Sonowal is contesting as a BJP nominee. The Centre had in March

Only one application has so far been received for citizenship under the CAA in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday. The lone application was made in Barak Valley, he said, without elaborating further. "The anti-CAA movement was based on lies and they (who were at the forefront) will have to answer now. So many days have passed, and only one application has been made in the state till date," Sarma said. The CM was talking to reporters after an election rally at Sonari in Sivasagar district, which comes under the Jorhat Lok Sabha seat. The Centre had last month implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, notifying the rules four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. Sarma also said there will be no contest in the five constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 19. Among the remaining ni

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday asserted that no Indian, irrespective of their faith, will lose citizenship with the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. He charged the opposition Congress and DMK with "creating confusion" over the issue. Rajnath was speaking after taking out a roadshow here in support of the party's Namakkal candidate for the April 19 Lok Sabha elections, KP Ramalingam. The BJP always implemented what it promised and the construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya, abrogation of Article 370 and the CAA were such assurances, he said. "We promised a citizenship act, and we did it. I want to clarify that any citizen of India--whether they are Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Parsi or Jew--nobody's citizenship will go away," he said. "The DMK and Congress are creating confusion on the matter," he alleged. On the abolition of triple Talaq, he said "mothers and sisters" from any faith are "our mothers and sisters." "Any atrocity against our mothers and sist

Asserting that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act will not impact the indigenous people of Assam, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday said the ruling NDA will win at least 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the upcoming elections. In an interview to PTI, the Union Ports, Shipping, Waterways and Ayush Minister claimed that all sections of society, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, are happy with the NDA government as it has protected their interests over the last 10 years. "CAA is a national law. Whatever the situation the opposition is creating with baseless provocative statements, this is not going to affect the concern of common and very knowledgeable citizens of Assam," he said. The common people know that the law is not going to affect their interest and after the publication of the rules, they have come to the reality of the pros and cons of the act, said Sonowal, who is the BJP candidate in the Dibrugarh seat. "We are saying that don't try to make a

The Centre on Tuesday sought time from the Supreme Court to file a reply to the applications seeking a stay on the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud that he needed some time to respond to the 20 applications which have sought a stay on the Rules till the apex court disposes of the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. "It (CAA) does not take away citizenship of any person," Mehta told the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The hearing is underway. The Centre had on March 11 paved the way for the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, with the notification of the relevant rules, four years after the contentious law was passed by Parliament to fast-track Indian citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan w

An American senator has expressed concern over the Indian government notifying rules for the implementation of the CAA, saying that as the US-India relationship deepens, it is important that the cooperation is based on shared values of protecting human rights of all, regardless of religion. The Indian government implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 last week, paving the way for the grant of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who came to India before December 31, 2014. The government also came out with a press statement to say that Indian Muslims need not worry as the CAA will not impact their citizenship and has nothing to do with the community which enjoys equal rights as Hindus. "I am deeply concerned by the Indian government's decision to notify its controversial Citizenship Amendment Act, particularly the law's potential ramifications on India's Muslim community. Making matters worse is the fact that it is being

The Union Home Ministry notified the rules for implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) on March 11

Amid criticism of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) from the US and other parts of the globe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said it is important to put it in the context of the Partition, and underlined that there are a "number of examples" in which many countries have fast-tracked citizenship. During an interaction at the India Today Conclave 2024, he also responded to questions on an Indian national, facing charges in a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Khalistani separatist on American soil and US Ambassador Eric Garcetti's remarks a day earlier on its impact on US-India ties. "You keep using India and Canada seamlessly, I would draw a line there, for a variety of reasons. Most notably that all said and done, American politics has not given that kind of space to violent extremist views and activities which Canada has done. So, I don't think it's fair to the US, to lump them together. I would distinguish between the two," Jaishankar said. The relations betwe

India has slammed Pakistan and described it as a broken record that remains stagnant while the world progresses after Islamabad's envoy here made references to the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and Citizenship Amendment Act during remarks to the UN General Assembly. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said this while responding to comments made by Pakistan's Ambassador Munir Akram during the plenary meeting on Friday where the resolution Measures to combat Islamophobia', introduced by Pakistan, was adopted by the 193-member UN General Assembly. "One final point concerns a delegation (and its remarks) that, much like a broken record, remains sadly stagnant while the world progresses, she said. Akram made references to the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya as well as to the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Kamboj said it is unfortunate indeed to witness this delegation's limited and misguided perspective on matters relating to my count

US State Department expressed 'concerned' about the notification of the CAA on March 11, and stated that they would be closely monitoring its implementation in India

For BJP, CAA was strategic move that did not quite work out because those it would benefit could've been accommodated under existing laws, and new entrants would remain excluded

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear pleas seeking a direction to the Centre to stay the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 till the pendency of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 before the apex court. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra took note of the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Indian Union Muslim League, that once the citizenship is granted to migrant Hindus, it cannot be taken back and hence the issues needed an early hearing. We will hear this on Tuesday. There are 190 plus cases. All of them will be heard. We will place a full batch with the IAs (Interim applications), the CJI said. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said there were 237 petitions and in those pending ones, four interim applications have been filed against the implementation of the rules. The applications were filed