Home Ministry seeks another three-month extension to frame Citizenship Amendment Act rules -Vijaita Singh

-The Hindu

Since the rules have not been drafted, the Citizenship Amendment Act, passed in 2019, cannot be enforced  

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has sought an extension of another three months to frame the rules of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, a legislation that fast tracks the citizenship of undocumented persons of six non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Without the rules being framed, the Act cannot be implemented.

The MHA has sought more time from the subordinate committee on parliamentary legislation in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to frame the rules, a senior government official told The Hindu. This the sixth extension the Ministry has requested.

The MHA has informed the Rajya Sabha committee that it needs time till December 31, 2022 to frame the rules, while it sought time till January 9, 2023 from the Lok Sabha committee. According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, in case the Ministries/ Departments are not able to frame the rules within the prescribed period of six months after a legislation is passed, “they should seek extension of time from the Committee on Subordinate Legislation stating reasons for such extension”.

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