GUWAHATI: The Leader of Opposition, Debabrata Saikia, has filed an interlocutory application with the Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the rules issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs in connection with Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019.
In the application, Saikia also opposed the CAA passed by Parliament on December 12, 2019. This law aims to provide citizenship to people who entered the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan until December 31, 2014.
The Congress leader argued that the rules introduced classification based on religion and country, which, in his view, fails the manifest arbitrariness test established in the case of Shayara Bano vs Union of India (2017) 9 SCC 1.
He asserted that this kind of classification is discriminatory and goes against Article 14 of the Constitution, which ensures equality for all individuals, regardless of their citizenship status.
Saikia highlighted inconsistencies in the treatment of persecuted religious minorities from various countries, specifically noting the exclusion of persecuted groups such as the Sri Lankan Eelam Tamils.
He further emphasized the violation of the Assam Accord of 1985, which required the expulsion of foreigners who came to Assam after March 25, 1971.
He argued that providing citizenship to illegal who are non-Muslims contradicts the Accord and weakens the socio-economic fabric of the state.
Saikia urged the court to postpone the implementation of the challenged Act and Rules until a final decision is made on the current writ petition, pointing out the potential harm caused by their enforcement after a long period of inaction.
Meanwhile, after more than four years of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) being passed by the parliament, the Union Home Ministry officially issued the rules on Monday.
Under the CAA, migrants will be eligible for expedited Indian citizenship within six years. The amendment also reduces the residence requirement for naturalization from eleven years to five for these migrants, deviating from the previous norm of a 12-year residence requirement.
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