In Guwahati, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma asserted on Thursday that the CAA holds minimal relevance in Assam, where the applications for Indian citizenship are anticipated to be scant. The Ministry of Home Affairs unveiled a portal on Tuesday for eligible individuals to apply for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019.
Sarma articulated that the significance of the CAA in Assam is negligible; the state is poised to witness a dearth of applications on the designated portal, as conveyed during a press briefing in the city. The Central Government recently enforced the Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019, releasing the regulations four years subsequent to its parliamentary endorsement, with the aim of expediting citizenship acquisition for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who arrived in India before December 31, 2014.
Elucidating further, Sarma underscored the clarity of the act regarding the citizenship application deadline, stipulated as December 31, 2014. In the context of Assam, individuals omitted from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and desiring citizenship shall solely resort to the CAA. Prospective citizens are mandated to furnish evidence of their arrival pre-2014, with the NRC serving as corroborative evidence exclusively in Assam; a distinction absent in other states. Failure to enlist in the NRC implies non-residence before the stipulated cut-off, rendering citizenship unattainable, Sarma explicated.
As of the portal’s launch on Tuesday, no applications originating from Assam have been recorded, Sarma asserted. The comprehensive data from the NRC application pool, facilitated by technological advancements, shall be publicly accessible, precluding any form of concealment. Subsequently, this data shall be presented in parliamentary proceedings, he confirmed.
Sarma emphasized that citizenship conferral falls under the purview of the central government and is not within the jurisdiction of the state. Adopting a rationale-based approach over emotional inclinations, he vowed to pursue accountability for the fatalities incurred during the December 2019 anti-CAA demonstrations. Upon the culmination of the application phase, Sarma pledged to petition the high court, seeking elucidation on the culpable parties behind the aforementioned deaths.
Given Assam’s transit status, entrants often traverse through the state en route to other destinations, owing to the contentious nature of the issue. Moreover, Assam’s distinctive institutional mechanisms, inclusive of tribunals and the ‘D’ voter categorization, are non-existent elsewhere, Sarma highlighted. The exodus of Assamese youth to Gujarat and Karnataka, lured by superior wage rates, renders prolonged residency improbable for Bangladeshi migrants, he reasoned.
While underscoring Bangladesh’s dwindling Hindu populace, Sarma decried the silence regarding the escalating Muslim demographic resultant from religious conversions, alleging a concerted effort against minority communities in the three nations as the impetus behind the CAA enactment.
Asserting the electoral prowess of the BJP, Sarma confidently projected victory in 13 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Assam. Proclaiming Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s anticipated third term, he exuded unwavering confidence in Modi’s electoral invincibility, regardless of formidable adversaries. Sarma attributed the BJP’s anticipated success in securing additional seats to perceived missteps by the opposition, refraining from elaboration on the matter.
Anticipating a landslide victory for Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal in the Dibrugarh constituency, Sarma envisaged a decisive triumph by a substantial margin. However, he conceded the minority-dominated constituency of Dhubri as the lone stronghold impervious to BJP’s electoral advances.