Centre Starts Granting Citizenship Under CAA In Bengal, Haryana, Uttarakhand

The process of granting citizenship under the new Citizenship Amendment Act or CAA began in three states on Wednesday, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a statement.

The applicants from West Bengal, Haryana and Uttarakhand were granted citizenship by the respective State Empowered Committee, the ministry stated.

The first set of citizenship certificates after the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, granted by the Empowered Committee, Delhi, were handed over to the applicants in New Delhi by the Union Home Secretary on May 15.

"The process of granting citizenship certificates under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 has now commenced in the state of West Bengal, where the first set of applications from the State were today granted citizenship by the Empowered Committee, West Bengal.

Similarly, the Empowered Committees of the states of Haryana and Uttarakhand have also granted citizenship today to the first set of applicants in their respective States, under the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024," MHA said in a statement on Wednesday.

It comes at a time when the stage is set for the seventh phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections approaches on June 1, scheduled in the constituencies of Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar parliamentary constituencies across West Bengal.

Following the notification of the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024, on March 11 this year, the Ministry of Home Affairs commenced the issuance of the first set of citizenship certificates on May 15 in Delhi. Approximately 300 citizenships were conferred on the inaugural day.

The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) grants citizenship to persecuted minorities from Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi, and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.