Assam CM Allays Fear on CAA Says Only 3 Foreigners Got Indian Citizenship in Assam
The Central Government has notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, pointing out some major exemptions from requirements related to valid passports, travel documents, and visas for specific categories of individuals and carriers.
Guwahati: Bogged down by the impact of the notification the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025 extending the stay for non-Muslim immigrants entering India till March 31,2024, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday said that only three foreigners have received citizenship of India in Assam under the CAA against 12 applications.
Asserting that it is futile to discuss the CAA against the backdrop of such a low number of applications against the apprehension that lakhs of foreigners would get citizenship in Assam, Mr Sarma indicated that the latest notification of the central government would not have any impact on Assam.
The Central Government has notified the Immigration and Foreigners (Exemption) Order, 2025, pointing out some major exemptions from requirements related to valid passports, travel documents, and visas for specific categories of individuals and carriers.
The exempted rules will apply on "a person belonging to a minority community in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian, who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before the 31st December, 2024-- without valid documents including passport or other travel documents; or with valid documents including passport or other travel documents and the validity of such documents have expired."
The notification further mentions that "the provisions of sub-sections (1), (2) and (3) of section 3 of the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025 to the extent of their stay in India and for the purposes of exiting India shall not apply to registered Sri Lankan Tamil nationals who have taken shelter in India upto the 9th January, 2015."
The notification has triggered angry protests by various stakeholders who threatened to launch a massive movement against what they said---attempt of the BJP government to facilitate the opportunity to provide citizenship to Hindu Bengali immigrants of Bangladesh.
In an obvious attempt to counter the growing unrest over the citizenship issue, Mr Sarma told reporters, “In Assam, only three people have got citizenship under the CAA. We have received only 12 applications so far. The remaining nine applications are under consideration.”
Arguing that opposition was trying to drag the state into unnecessary debates by creating the opposition on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, he said, "There was a hue-and-cry that 20-25 lakh people would get citizenship in Assam. Now, you yourself decide whether it is relevant to discuss the CAA when we received only 12 applications."
It is significant that the CAA seeks to provide Indian citizenship to Hindus, Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Parsis entering India on or before December 31, 2014, from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, after five years of residence here. The new notification has extended the deadline of granting shelter to non-Muslim immigrants to December 31,2024.
