Guwahati, July 15: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday that eight people have applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), but only two have appeared for the citizenship interview.

Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, “So far, eight people have applied under the newly amended CAA. Out of those eight, only two attended the citizenship interview. We will give a chance to all people whose cases are pending in different courts to apply for CAA.”

“When I contacted many Hindu Bengali families and asked why they are not applying for citizenship under CAA, they told me that they are convinced of their Indian citizenship because they entered the country prior to 1971. They do not want to apply under CAA; rather, they want to prove their citizenship in the court of law,” Sarma added.

Sarma further stated, “I can not give directions; the Foreigners Tribunal (FT) judges will decide when the citizenship issues go to FT. The FT judges are aware of the CAA and have to act according to the law. I can tell my public prosecutor to flag the amended provision before the tribunal, but the directions have to come from the judges.”

“We will give a chance to all people whose cases are pending in different courts to apply for CAA. We can not withdraw the pending cases in court. However, all the FT judges are also aware of CAA, and we will ask public prosecutors to mention CAA in the cases. We have also asked the police that before filing a Foreigner’s case, we should give them the opportunity to apply under CAA.”

These individuals will be encouraged to apply for citizenship through CAA, with their applications assessed by the Government of India based on the facts and circumstances of each case. A separate register will be maintained for this category of individuals.

However, the directive specifies that this differential treatment will not apply to individuals who entered Assam from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan after December 31, 2014, regardless of their religion. These individuals will be forwarded directly to the jurisdictional Foreigners Tribunal for further action once detected.

In Assam, Foreigners Tribunals decide whether a person accused of being an illegal immigrant is a foreigner or an Indian citizen.

Also Read: BJP is afraid to face people in panchayat elections: Tripura Oppn leader Jitendra Chaudhury

Also Watch

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

Also, Follow us on-

Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub

Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020

Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub