The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which aims to grant citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis, and Christians from three countries, is once again in the headlines as the central government is likely to notify the rules for it.
Quoting sources, News18 reported that the central government may soon notify rules for the CAA, and then a national census will be conducted. Following the national census, the government will proceed with delimitations, the sources added.
COVID delays notifying CAA rules
CAA is an amendment act that was passed in 2019, making Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Parsis, Jains, and Christians from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship if they have entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
As it makes religion one of the criteria for citizenship, it has faced condemnation from various corners of the country.
A massive protest was also held back in 2019, with many political leaders linking the law to the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The protest ended due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
The government cited the COVID outbreak and subsequent nationwide vaccination efforts as the reasons for the delay in notifying the rules for the implementation of CAA.
Delimitation may put South Indian states at disadvantage: KTR
As the central government may also conduct the next delimitation, the process of redrawing the boundaries of constituencies or electoral districts within a country, many leaders from South Indian states, including Telangana IT Minister KT Rama Rao, have recently voiced concerns about the exercise.
He highlighted that it could potentially put the South Indian states at a disadvantage.
Citing a report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, KTR has emphasised that the seat share of northern states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar would surpass that of the entire southern region, comprising Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telangana.
As the government may notify the CAA rules and proceed with the delimitation process, it is likely to trigger reactions from various sections of society.
