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Former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh and Congress leader TS Singh Deo criticized the central government's notification of the rules under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019 on Monday, emphasizing the importance of discussing issues with the country at large before making a final decision.
He said that the central government should have had discussions before notifying the CAA rules across the nation. "These are issues that should have been discussed with the country at large and then decisions taken," TS Singh Deo said. "You (the Central Government) should talk, make it acceptable, and then do it," he added. Meanwhile, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai supported the Centre's move and said that the CAA will 'help' the people who migrated to India after 'facing atrocities' in other countries, including Pakistan. "Today, PM Modi has implemented CAA in the country. It will help the people who have come to India after facing atrocities in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. They will be able to get Indian citizenship through this," the Chief Minister said. Chhattisgarh Deputy CM Arun Sao also welcomed the CAA rules' notification and called it a "historical decision." "This is a historical decision. The bill had been passed in the Lok Sabha... A lot of people were miserable, they were not getting the benefits of the government schemes, but now they got justice..." he said. Chhattisgarh Speaker Raman Singh lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah for the notification. "CAA was in discussion for a long time I want to congratulate PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. CAA has been brought to give citizenship and not take it away," Raman Singh said. On March 11, Monday, the Center notified the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) rules, days before the announcement of the schedule for the Lok Sabha elections and the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct. The Ministry of Home Affairs has already created a portal for the applicants' convenience, with the entire process being done online. The Act, which was passed in 2019, seeks to fast-track Indian citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians--except for Muslims--who migrated to India owing to religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The applicants are required to declare the year that they entered India without travel documents. The notification has, however, garnered mixed responses from the opposition. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the timing of notifying the rules for the Citizenship (Amendment) Act was "BJP's desperate attempt at divisive politics" just ahead of the coming Lok Sabha elections. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also alleged that the announcement is yet another attempt to "manage the headlines" after the Supreme Court's strictures on the electoral bonds issue. Ramesh said it has taken four years and three months for the Narendra Modi government to notify the rules for the law cleared by Parliament in December 2019. Aam Adami Party leader and Delhi Minister Atishi said that the announcement by the BJP shows that 'it has not done any work in the last 10 years'. "Just a few days before the Lok Sabha elections, CAA is being brought in. What does this show? This shows that the Modi government knows that they haven't done any work in the last 10 years," she said. However, several leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed PM Modi after the central government CAA across the country. Rajasthan Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore said, "The CAA law was passed about three years ago, the wait was for its rules and regulations to be made. Now it has been made. I congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister for implementing CAA." Welcoming the notification, Goa CM Pramod Sawant thanked PM Modi. (ANI)
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