Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has reiterated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) has had minimal impact in the state, with only one application filed under its provisions thus far.
Addressing concerns surrounding the CAA, Sarma emphasised the need for clarity and dispelled what he termed as misinformation propagated by critics of the legislation.
Sarma said that assertions made by certain quarters about the potential repercussions of the CAA were unfounded and aimed at misleading the public. Refuting claims of mass migration anticipated due to the implementation of the law, Sarma pointed out that only one application had been received since the CAA rules were notified on March 11.
Highlighting specific regions within Assam, Sarma noted the absence of applications from areas such as Barak Valley, which boasts a significant Bengali-speaking population. Similarly, he mentioned Sonari, where a sizable Bengali-speaking Hindu community resides, yet no applications had been submitted from that locality.
The Chief Minister asserted that the forthcoming period would bring further clarity on the issue, indicating a willingness to debunk what he described as attempts to incite unrest through falsehoods.
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The legislation has faced opposition from groups such as the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU), which have staged protests and symbolically burned copies of the CAA rules.
Sarma’s remarks come in the wake of his earlier statement on March 17, where he predicted a low number of citizenship applications under the CAA in Assam. He attributed this expectation to the existence of legal documents enabling individuals whose names were excluded from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to prove their identity in courts.
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