Himanta Biswa Sarma, emphasizing his commitment to the people of Assam, stated that he would step down from his position if any discrepancies in the citizenship process are observed.
Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has made a bold statement, asserting that he would be the first to resign if any individual who has not applied for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is granted citizenship. This declaration by the Chief Minister comes amidst widespread protests in Assam against the implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) by the BJP government. The CAA aims to provide citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. “I am a son of Assam and if a single person who has not applied for NRC gets citizenship, I will be the first to resign”‘, the chief minister said on the sidelines of a programme at Sivasagar.
The opposition parties in Assam have strongly criticized the CAA, expressing concerns that it could lead to an influx of migrants into the state. Himanta Biswa Sarma, according to PTI, emphasizing his commitment to the people of Assam, stated that he would step down from his position if any discrepancies in the citizenship process are observed.
Sarma emphasized the importance of the online portal for processing citizenship applications, stating that it would provide clarity on the situation. “There is nothing new about the CAA as it was enacted earlier, the chief minister said, adding that “now the time has come for application on the portal.” ‘The data on the portal will speak now, and it will become clear whether the claims of those opposing the Act stand factually correct or not,” Sarma said.
With the CAA rules being issued, the central government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, who came to India till December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians. The law could not come into effect as rules had not been notified till now.
IUML moves Supreme Court seeking stay of CAA
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) has moved an application before the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the implementation of the rules notified by the Union Home Ministry under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In its application, IUML said that the Citizenship Amendment Rules, 2024 are manifestly arbitrary and create an unfair advantage in favour of a class of persons on the ground solely of their religious identity, which is impermissible under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
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