Notifying CAA rules a 'gimmick', will discuss in tomorrow's Cabinet meeting: CM Siddaramaiah
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Centre notifying the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is a "gimmick" keeping Lok Sabha polls in mind, and the state government will take a decision regarding its implementation in Karnataka after going through it, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Wednesday. The Centre on Monday announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, a move that comes four years after the contentious law was passed and paves the way for citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
"CAA is being brought in now keeping the election in mind. Why were they (Centre) keeping quiet all these years? Now they have brought it all of a sudden ahead of elections, because they fear losing (in the polls). That's the reason they are doing all these gimmicks," Siddaramaiah told reporters here.
"We are yet to look into it. After looking into it, we will take a decision. We will discuss it at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow," the Chief Minister said.
The rules were notified days ahead of the expected announcement of the Lok Sabha elections. With this, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians from the three countries.
Earlier in the day, Home Minister G Parameshwara told reporters in Bengaluru the government has not yet discussed the issue of implementation of the CAA in the State, and the Cabinet will take a call on it.
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Assam to lift all cases against Koch Rajbongshis in Foreigners' Tribunals: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.
''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.
The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.
The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.
''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.
Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.
These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.
The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.
