Only eight applied for citizenship under CAA in Assam: CM Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said only eight people have applied for citizenship under the CAA from the state so far.

Speaking at a press conference here, Sarma noted that out of these applicants, only two have proceeded to attend interviews with relevant authorities.

The Centre on March 11 implemented the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 CAA by notifying the rules, four years after the law was passed by Parliament to fast-track citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who came to India before December 31, 2014, and stayed here for five years.

"We conducted outreach programmes in the Barak valley and approached many-Hindu Bengali families and asked them to apply for citizenship under CAA. However, they refused to do so saying that they would prefer fighting their cases at the Foreigners Tribunal (FT)," Sarma said.

Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies exclusive to Assam to decide the nationality issu