CAA rules likely to be notified on Monday
New Delhi, Mar 11: The rules for implementation of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) are likely to be notified on Monday to facilitate the granting of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, according to sources.
Once the CAA rules are issued, the Modi government will start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan -- Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians -- who had come to India till December 31, 2014.
The CAA was passed in December 2019 and subsequently got the president's assent but there were protests in several parts of the country against it. Over a hundred people lost their lives during the anti-CAA protests or police action.
The law could not come into effect so far as rules have to be notified for its implementation.
According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation should be framed within six months of presidential assent or the government has to seek an extension from the Committees on Subordinate Legislation in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Since 2020, the Home Ministry has been taking extensions at regular intervals from the parliamentary committee for framing the rules.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has readied a portal for the convenience of the applicants as the entire process will be online. The applicants will have to declare the year when they entered India without travel documents.
No document will be sought from the applicants, an official said.
On December 27, 2023, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that no one can stop the implementation of the CAA as it is the law of the land and accused West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of misleading people on the issue.
Addressing a party meeting in Kolkata, Shah said it is the BJP's commitment to implement the CAA.
The TMC, led by Mamata Banerjee, has been opposing the CAA since the beginning.
The promise of implementing the controversial CAA was a major poll plank of the BJP in the last Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in West Bengal.
The saffron party's leaders consider it a plausible factor that led to the rise of the BJP in Bengal.
Meanwhile, in the last two years, over 30 District Magistrates and Home Secretaries of nine states have been given powers to grant Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians coming from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
According to the annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2021-22, from April 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021, a total of 1,414 foreigners belonging to these non-Muslim minority communities from the three countries were given Indian citizenship by registration or naturalization under the Citizenship Act, 1955.
The nine states where Indian citizenship by registration or naturalisation is given under the Citizenship Act, 1955 to non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Maharashtra.
Interestingly, authorities of none of the districts of Assam and West Bengal, where the issue is politically very sensitive, have been given the powers so far.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Foreign players fly out of India after IPL suspension
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI): Most of the foreign recruits in IPL franchises departed for their respective countries on Saturday following the suspension high-profile T20 League which was halted for a week due to India-Pakistan border tension.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) was suspended on Friday, a day after the Punjab Kings vs Delhi Capitals match in Dharamsala was abandoned midway following air raid alerts in neighbouring cities of Jammu and Pathankot.
With the tournament suspended, the players and support staff from various franchises have begun returning to their home-towns, while several foreign players are home-bound.
"Our players and extended staff have safely returned to Bengaluru and are now homebound to their respective cities and countries," RCB said in a statement.
RCB's foreign contingent includes Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Romario Shepherd, Philip Salt, Josh Hazlewood, Lungi Ngidi, and Nuwan Thushara.
Among the overseas support staff are head coach Andy Flower, bowling coach Adam Griffith, Director of Cricket Operations Mo Bobat, team physio Evan Speechly, and analyst Freddie Wilde.
"We're deeply grateful for the swift coordination and support from the BCCI, local authorities, and the police who made this possible," the RCB statement added.
An LSG official also confirmed to PTI that some of their overseas players flew out on Saturday, while a few others opted to stay back for the time being.
For other franchises like Mumbai Indians (MI) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), both domestic and international players have also departed for their respective locations.
According to a source, KKR players left from Hyderabad, where they were scheduled to face Sunrisers Hyderabad on Saturday.
After the IPL match in Dharamsala was called off, players from Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals reached New Delhi on Friday after being evacuated and escorted to the Jalandhar railway station in batches through Hoshiarpur amid tight security.
The squads had arrived in New Delhi aboard a special 'Vande Bharat Express'.
A Punjab Kings (PBKS) source said that most of their foreign players have left for home.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said that updates regarding the revised schedule and venues for the remainder of the tournament would be shared in due course after a comprehensive assessment of the situation in consultation with relevant authorities and stakeholders.
The suspension of the IPL comes in the wake of India's missile strikes targeting terror infrastructure across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
The strikes were carried out in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives.
Our players and extended staff have safely returned to Bengaluru and are now homebound to their respective cities and countries. 🙌
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) May 10, 2025
We’re deeply grateful for the swift coordination and support from the BCCI, local authorities, and the police who made this possible. 🙏🇮🇳… pic.twitter.com/8IatIo5Wwl
