‘State govts. have no role in CAA implementation’ ‘Act won’t affect the citizenship of Indian Muslims’

Members of the All Assam Student Union (AASU) take out a torchlight procession against the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Guwahati on Tuesday.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister’s statement that the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019 will not be implemented in the State will have no impact on the implementation of the legislation as citizenship is the domain of the Union government, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

While the task of processing the citizenship applications under the CAA has been entrusted to the Postal department and Census officials who function under the Union government, the responsibility of conducting background and security checks lies with Central security agencies such as the Intelligence Bureau (IB), according to a notification issued on Monday.

As the applications will be filed online, the proce

In a bid to allay the fears of the Muslim community after the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act were notified, the Union Home Ministry on Tuesday said that “no Indian citizen would be asked to produce any document to prove his citizenship after this Act”.

dure leaves little scope for the involvement of the State government or local police, a senior Home Ministry official said.

Panel to take final call

The final decision on applications will be taken by the empowered committee headed by the Director (Census Operations) in each State, which will include officers from the Intelligence Bureau, the Post Master General, and a State or National Informatics Centre official. A representative from the Department of Home of the State government and the Divisional Railway Manager will be the invitees.

The districtlevel committee, which will be the primary body to sift the applications, will be headed by the Superintendent, Department of Post. It will have an official not below the rank of Naib Tehsildar or equivalent from the office of District Collector representing the State government only as an invitee.

The official said that on Tuesday several applicants registered on the portal https://indiancitizenshiponline.nic.in.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Tuesday said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the rules for which were notified by the Union Home Ministry on Monday, would not be implemented in the State.

The CAA went against minorities and Sri Lankan Tamils living in camps in the State, the Chief Minister said.

“It is the opinion of this government that this Act is not only totally unnecessary but also ought to be rescinded. So, the government will not allow its implementation in Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Stalin said, and added that it would also “not allow any legislation that is against the unity of India”.

The rules notified for the Act by the Union government not only go against the basic structure of the Constitution, but are also “against the welfare of Indian people, the multidimensional character of India and its secular character”, Mr. Stalin said.

The Chief Minister recalled that the Tamil Nadu Assembly adopted a resolution against the CAA on September 8, 2021, and referred to voices of opposition to the Act from other States.

‘Diverting attention’

“We cannot help but wonder whether the CAA has been notified now, keeping the election in mind, and whether it is meant to divert the people’s attention from the Supreme Court [on the electoral bonds issue],” the Chief Minister said.