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Hundreds of Pakistani Hindu refugees who have been living in Delhi cast their votes for the first time after being granted citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act.
This marked a powerful moment in their journey from statelessness to citizenship. Interacting with ANI after exercising their voting rights, refugees expressed their happiness and said that they feel proud of being citizen of the country. Dhanwanti, one of the Pakistani refugees, now an Indian voter, said, "We came here from Pakistan...I voted for the first time here in India...I am feeling very happy...we are now the citizens of the country..." Another Pakistani refugee Shankar said, "I came here in 2013 from Pakistan...We got the voter card last month...I am very happy after casting my vote...It was our dream to get Citizenship in India, and today, after casting the vote, we feel very proud that we are now the citizen of the country...More than 100 families cast their votes today...We want to get a permanent house..." On March 11 last year, the Central government announced the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, paving the way for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014, to obtain Indian citizenship. Meanwhile, Delhi witnessed a voter turnout of 57.70 per cent was recorded till 5 pm on Wednesday in the single-phase Delhi assembly elections, according to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The North-East district of the national capital continues to lead the way with the highest turnout of 63.83 per cent turnout among all districts. The lowest turnout of 53.77 per cent was recorded in the South East district just behind the New Delhi district where a turnout of 54.37 per cent was recorded at 5 pm. (ANI)
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