On Tuesday, the Central Government sought an extension of up to January 9, 2022, for framing of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed Lok Sabha about this proposed extension. CAA was passed by the Parliament in December 2019.
Rai was replying to a question placed by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on whether the government had missed the deadline to frame and notify CAA rules, and the steps taken in this regard.
“The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) has been notified on 12.12.2019 and has come into force w.e.f. 10.01.2020,” the minister replied. He further said, “The Committees on Subordinate Legislation, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been requested to grant further extension of time up to 09.01.2022 to frame the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019”.
This is the fifth extension sought by the government for framing these rules. According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation should have been framed within six months of presidential assent or seek an extension.
The objective of the CAA is to grant Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities like Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis, and Christians from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
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