CAA: Centre instructs Tripura DMs to form review committees

Tribal areas of state are exempt from the implementation of the act

Agency

AGARTALA, May 14, 2024: The Centre has directed the Tripura government to implement the provisions of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has been a focal point of national contention. The instruction also dispels doubts that the act will not be implemented in northeast India as a whole. 

In a letter dated March 26 last, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) addressed all district magistrates of the state, conveying the decision to implement the CAA in the country. The MHA advised the DMs to form district-level committees to screen and review applications for Indian citizenship.

The MHA letter also instructed authorities to examine the applications under Section 68 of the Citizenship Act of 1955. 

It is now clear that the CAA will be applicable in the state of Tripura, despite a common notion to exclude the entire Northeast region. The CAA however will not be implemented in areas under the state's tribal autonomous district council of the state, officials said.

The original order from the Government of India explicitly stated that the CAA will not apply to regions mentioned under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution which includes tribal areas.

Besides, areas covered by the Inner Line Permit system (ILP) are also exempt from the CAA.

It remains to be seen how regional and tribal parties in the state will respond to the central government's decision to implement the CAA and grant citizenship to religious minority individuals from neighbouring countries.

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