The President addresses the CAA in the House as the government gears up for its implementation

In the backdrop of signals from Union ministers hinting at the imminent implementation of the CAA, President Droupadi Murmu referenced the Citizenship Amendment Act in her address to the joint session of Parliament on Wednesday. She stated, “This Parliament also enacted a law to grant citizenship to persecuted minorities from our neighbouring countries.”

On January 28, Shantanu Thakur, the junior minister for ports and shipping, declared in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal that the CAA would be put into effect within the next seven days, reinforcing the likelihood of an early rollout of the law. The Modi government had enacted the CAA in 2020 amid widespread protests.

Sources suggest that the rules for the CAA, which are yet to be notified, causing a delay in the implementation of the Act, are ready and may be notified soon. Plans include a fully online system for application, processing, and granting of citizenship under the CAA. This system would allow eligible migrants to submit their requests through a dedicated Ministry of Home Affairs portal, enabling them to do so from anywhere and track the progress of their applications.

President Murmu also highlighted positive developments on the internal security front, including the prevailing sense of security in Jammu and Kashmir, which has relegated doubts regarding the removal of Article 370 from the erstwhile state to history.