Centre yet to notify rules of Citizenship Amendment Act

• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has missed the third extended deadline for notifying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 rules since the Act was approved.
• The extension is requested from the two parliamentary committees in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to establish the rules expired on January 9.
• The Act cannot be executed without rules.

Background

• Parliament enacted the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) on December 11, 2019, and the Act was announced within 24 hours on December 12.
• The Ministry said in January 2020 that the Act will take effect on January 10, 2020.
• Its goal is to make changes to the Citizenship Act of 1955.
• Citizenship can be obtained in a variety of methods under the Citizenship Act of 1955.
• It establishes citizenship based on birth, descent, registration, naturalization, and the territory's integration into India.

Citizenship amendment act

• The CAA's goal is to offer Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians.
• Those from these groups who came to India before December 31, 2014 to escape religious persecution in their home countries would not be considered illegal immigrants and will be granted Indian citizenship.
• The Act stipulates that the central government has the authority to revoke OCI registrations for a variety of reasons.

Exceptions

• Due to their inclusion in the Constitution's 6th Schedule, the Act does not apply to the tribal territories of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam, and Meghalaya.
• Areas that lie inside the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation, 1873's Inner Limit will likewise be exempt from the Act's reach.

Issues Around the Law

• It goes against the Constitution's fundamental principles. Illegal immigrants are classified according to their faith.
• It is seen as posing a demographic danger to indigenous peoples.
• It allows illegal aliens to apply for citizenship based on their faith. This might be a violation of the Constitution's Article 14, which protects the right to equality.
• It makes an attempt to naturalize illegal immigrants in the region.
• It provides for the termination of an OCI registration if a law is broken. This is a broad category that might include a variety of offenses, including minor infractions.