Indian Home Minister Amit Shah has said the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) are yet to be framed as such a huge process could not be conducted amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Shah made the remark on Sunday during a two-day visit to West Bengal, to kick off campaigns for the Assembly election next year, reports Scroll.in citing PTI.
“The rules of the CAA are yet to be framed as such a massive process could not be carried out because of the corona. As soon as [Covid-19] vaccination starts and corona cycle breaks, we will consider it,” Shah said.
On Monday, Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the Covid-19 vaccine may be available in the country in January next year, reports UNB.
"I personally feel may be in January in any stage or any week, there can be a time when we can be in a position to give first Covid-19 vaccine shot to the people of India," said Vardhan in an interview with a local television news agency.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the country on Monday has reached 10,055,560 and the death toll has risen to 145,810, the federal health ministry said.
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs said earlier this month that rules for the CAA were still under preparation, according to a response to a Right to Information (RTI) query.
BC Joshi, the director (citizenship) of foreigner’s division, said in the RTI response that his office had not sent any letter related to the CAA to the Parliamentary Committee on Subordinate Legislation in August.
In July, The Hindu had reported that the ministry was yet to inform parliament about the delay in framing rules related to the CAA.
This must be done in case the rules are not framed within six months of the parliament passing the legislation.
After the newspaper’s report, the ministry sought a three-month extension from the parliamentary committee.
The extension expired in November and it is unclear if the ministry asked for another.
On December 13, BJP National General Secretary and central observer for West Bengal Kailash Vijayvargiya had said that the CAA would be implemented soon in the state.
The BJP leader, however, remained silent on the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Two days later, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee assured people that they need not fear the roll-out of the NRC, the amendments to the Citizenship Act or the National Population Register, as all refugee colonies in the state were recognized by the government.
The CAA, approved by Parliament on December 11, 2019, provides citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years and entered the country by December 31, 2014.
It has been widely criticized for excluding Muslims. The act sparked huge protests across the country.
There is apprehension among people that the CAA, followed by the NRC, will benefit non-Muslims, while excluded Muslims would have to prove their citizenship.
The central government has, however, repeatedly denied that the CAA and the NRC are linked. About 13 states have opposed the National Population Register process over its links with these two.