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.
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MUDA's decision to take back CM's wife's sites "destruction of evidence", says HD Kumaraswamy
Bengaluru, Oct 2: JD(S) leader and Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday questioned the MUDA's decision to take back 14 plots allotted to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's wife Parvathi B M, and said it amounts to "destruction of evidence".
He demanded that the Lokayukta police, which is probing into the case, arrest the MUDA commissioner for the decision.
State BJP President B Y Vijayendra too expressed surprise over the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Commissioner's decision, and termed it "illegal".
MUDA on Tuesday decided to take back 14 plots allotted to Parvathi, following her decision to relinquish their ownership and possession.
It has ordered to cancel the sale deed of these plots, its Commissioner A N Raghunandan said on Tuesday.
Kumaraswamy lashed out at the CM, accusing him of indulging in misuse of powers.
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"In the High Court he has said that the sites belong to (his family)...the court for public representatives (Special court) has ordered a Lok Ayukta probe. The property is under the court now.....how can they (CM family) say that they want to give back sites, whose sites are they. How can they give," Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said, "If there is transparency in the Lokayukta probe, they have to arrest the MUDA commissioner immediately. How does the MUDA commissioner have the powers to take back the sites? After hearing arguments the court has given its order, after that they (CM family) have played the drama of returning the sites. On what basis or under which powers have the sites been taken back."
"How can the 'Khata' (certification of ownership of property) be changed? The Chief Minister by misusing the Lokayukta officers is trying to cover up this case. Who all have influenced and put pressure on that officer (MUDA commissioner) to take back the sites? All these things need to be investigated," he said.
Calling the MUDA commissioner's decision to take back 14 sites as "illegal", Kumaraswamy said, it is in violation of court order and may lead to contempt of court.
"Change of khata is to destroy evidence. In this government Siddaramaiah is misusing power and officials...if Lokayukta police are conducting the probe in accordance with law, they should arrest the MUDA official," he said.
The "destruction of evidence" happening at the behest of the Chief Minister or Urban Development Minister, need to be investigated, the former CM further said, adding, "when the probe is regarding 14 sites, MUDA taking them based on an application and changing the Khata amounts to destruction of evidence by this government misusing power."
"What is Lokayukta police probing the case doing," he asked, pointing out that return of sites took place soon after the ED registered a case.
On Monday, the Enforcement Directorate registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), equivalent to an FIR by police, against the CM over the alleged irregularities in allotment of 14 sites to his wife by the MUDA.
Hours later, the Chief Minister's wife wrote to MUDA expressing her desire to surrender the sites allotted to her by the authority.
BJP leader Vijayendra questioned as to on what basis the MUDA commissioner cancelled the Khata. "It has been done just on the basis of the CM's wife's letter despite the orders of the High Court and the Special Court."
MUDA official's decision to cancel the Khata is illegal, and it cannot be done. "It makes clear that officials are also involved."
Lokayukta police on September 27 registered an FIR against Siddaramaiah, his wife, brother-in-law Mallikarjuna Swamy, Devaraju -- from whom Mallikarjuna Swamy purchased land and gifted it to Parvathi -- and others, following a Special Court order.
The order of the Special Court Judge, Santhosh Gajanan Bhat, came a day after the High Court upheld the sanction granted by the Governor to conduct an investigation against Siddaramaiah.
In the MUDA site allotment case, it is alleged that 14 compensatory sites were allotted to Siddaramaiah's wife in an upmarket area in Mysuru which had higher property value as compared to the location of her land which had been "acquired" by MUDA.
The MUDA had allotted plots to Parvathi under a 50:50 ratio scheme in lieu of 3.16 acres of her land, where it developed a residential layout.
Under the controversial scheme, MUDA allotted 50 per cent of developed land to the land losers in lieu of undeveloped land acquired from them for forming residential layouts.
It is alleged that Parvathi had no legal title over this 3.16 acres of land at survey number 464 of Kasare village, Kasaba hobli of Mysuru taluk.
