'Any local priest can validate religion of CAA applicants', says report

A local priest can issue an eligibility certificate to validate the religion of the refugees seeking citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, The Hindu reported citing a response from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ CAA helpline.

According to the report, the certificate is a mandatory document and it must be issued by a locally reputed community institution.

The certificate, a mandatory document, is to be enclosed along with an affidavit and other documents that the applicants are to upload on the CAA portal.

“The reasons for which applicant wishes to acquire Indian citizenship” must also be stated, the newspaper reported.

When the rules were initially notified, the ministry did not elaborate on which authority could issue the certificate.

The person issuing the certificate must certify that “to the best of my knowledge and belief, he/she belongs to Hindu/Sikh/Buddhist/Jain/Parsi/Christian community and continues to be a member of the above-mentioned community”.

On March 15, the MHA launched the helpline for people seeking Indian nationality under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

Anyone who needs assistance in applying for citizenship can make free calls to the number '1032' between 8 am and 8 pm from anywhere in India.

A mobile application for applying for Indian citizenship under the CAA already became operational on March 15.

Earlier, the home ministry launched a portal for eligible people to apply for Indian citizenship under the CAA.

The rules for implementation of the contentious CAA, 2019 were notified on March 11, paving the way for granting of citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

With the issuance of the CAA rules, the Modi government will now start granting Indian nationality to persecuted non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who came to India till December 31, 2014. These include Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis and Christians.

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