Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 15 (HBTV): Under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) the Union government has granted Indian citizenship to the first person in Assam - a Bangladeshi national who is residing in Assam. 

Dulan Kumar Das, originally from Bangladesh's Sylhet district has become the first person in Assam who has received Indian citizenship through the CAA. 

Dulan Kumar Das had reportedly illegally entered India from Bangladesh due to religious persecution and had been living in Barak Valley for almost 36 years. 

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday told the media that, only one person has received Indian citizenship in Assam, but the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) who opposed the CAA claimed that 20 lakh Bangladeshi people will get citizenship status. 

"We were waiting for that figure which was claimed by AASU. At that time AASU said that lakhs of people were waiting to enter Assam. Are they not ashamed yet? They had made publicity in Assam that 20 lakh people will come to Assam. Now they are talking about only one, where is one and where is 20 lakh. In the next year when AASU will observe Swahid Divas, we will observe Fraud Day. How they destabilized a good-running government by making the people of Assam agitate. If there had been no CAA agitation at that time in Assam, a lot of work would have been done in Assam. They should apologise today," CM Sarma said.

On the other hand, Samujjal Bhattacharya, Chief Advisor of All Assam Students' Union said, "We will not accept CAA. A case is in the Supreme Court."

"They passed the CAA in the parliament as they had the numbers and imposed it upon us, we will never accept it. The democratic movement in Assam and North East and legal fight in the Supreme Court will be continued," Bhattacharya said.

Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 enable persons eligible under CAA-2019 to apply for the grant of Indian citizenship and applications are to be submitted in a completely online mode for which a web portal has been provided by the government. 

The Centre notified the rules for implementing the Citizenship Amendment Act on March 11. 

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees who had sought shelter in India before December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution in three neighbouring countries--Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, of six minority communities there. 

The CAA removes legal barriers to rehabilitation and citizenship and gives a dignified life to refugees "who have suffered for decades".   

(ANI)