Amend 2003 CAA
Friday, March 13, 2020
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:
Scrap Rules and Amend the 2003 Citizenship Amendment Act
The Union Home Minister, Amit Shah, in his reply to the discussion on the ghastly communal violence that rocked Delhi recently thundered that “no one needs to fear about NPR; no one will be marked doubtful in the updating process”.
If, indeed, this BJP government is honest about this remark, then they need to amend the 2003 Rules under the Amendment to the Citizenship Act. Rules numbers – 3, 4, 5, 5 (a), (b), 6 (a), (b), (c) – deal exclusively with the process of preparation of the NPR and the identification of individuals whose citizenship is doubtful and prescribe the further process of enquiry and documentation required for people thus marked as doubtful.
If the Home Minister’s assurance to the Parliament is to be believed, then this government should immediately scrap these Rules. In which case, the relevant clauses in the 2003 Amendment to the Citizenship Act that provide a legal status for the NRC would be rendered infructuous and, hence, the law should also be amended to scrap the NRC.
A majority of the State governments, representing large populations, have expressed their opposition to the NRC. Respecting this as well, the 2003 amendment should be suitably amended to scrap the NRC.
The PB of the CPI(M) categorically asserts that mere assertions in the Parliament do not evince confidence amongst the people that the NPR will not be used on a later date to facilitate the NRC. The relevant rules must be scrapped and the 2003 Act amended.