Union minister of state for home affairs Nityanand Rai said that at least 3,117 people belonging to minority communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were granted Indian citizenship between 2018 to 2021.
Rai’s response came after Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) Rajya Sabha MP Dr K Keshava Rao asked a question regarding the total number of citizenship applications received from minotiry groups like Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Christian in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan between 2018 and 2021. He also wanted to know the number of people who were granted Indian citizenship.
Rai said that the government received 8,244 citizenship applications from the minority groups in India’s neighbouring countries in these four years and granted citizenship to 3,117 applicants. Rai further added that all foreign nationals including refugee seekers are governed by the provisions contained in The Foreigners Act, 1946, The Registration of Foreigners Act, 1939, The Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and The Citizenship Act, 1955, according to a report by news agency PTI.
While replying to a separate question asked by Member of Parliament Abdul Wahab on current applicants for Indian citizenship, Rai said that there were 1,152 applications pending from Afghanistan, followed by 428 from stateless people, 223 from Sri Lanka and USA, 189 from Nepal and 161 from Bangladesh till December 14, 2021.
He also said that as many as 10 applicants from China had applied for Indian citizenship.
The government had in 2019 introduced the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who entered into India on or before December 31, 2014. The CAA led to several protests in Assam and northeastern states as indigenous groups claimed that it threatened them. Protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) also went on for several months in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh between 2019 and 2020.
The government said in July this year that there will be a delay in the implementation of CAA, and that an extension has been sought till January 9 next year. This was also informed by Nityanand Rai, who said that the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been asked to give an extension of time to frame the rules under the CAA.
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