Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday handed over Indian citizenship certificates to 35 people from Nabarangpur district under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA). At a special programme organised by the Odisha Census Directorate and the Union Home Ministry, Majhi said India's “traditional values of humanity and asylum” had been revived through the process launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This holy legislation has provided a ray of hope and reassurance to minorities persecuted for years,” he said. As per the rules notified on March 11, 2014, minority community members who entered India from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan before December 31, 2014, are eligible for Indian citizenship. Stating that these 35 people are now citizens of India, the chief minister said: “You are now part of our future. Your safety, respect and progress are our responsibility and duty. I welcome you as citizens of India”. Majhi pointed out that if a person of any other religion is persecuted in any country, there are many nations in the world that can give him shelter. “However, if a Hindu is persecuted in any other country, there is no other place except India that can give them shelter. If there is no such law in India, then where will they go?” the CM asked. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari said many persecuted minorities in neighbouring countries may have ancestral links to India. “Keeping in mind their persecution, the PM designed the CAA amendment law,” he said, adding that the new citizens will be eligible for all benefits, including land for the landless and caste certificates where necessary. One Bapin Mirda, who came from Bangladesh in 1998 and was accorded Indian citizenship here on Thursday, said the certificate has given him a new identity.
