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Ministry of Home Affairs invites applications to grant citizenship to minorities in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh

Queency Jain

The Modi Government has invited applications to grants citizenship to minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who are residing in the 13 districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Punjab.

The Union Home Ministry, by issuing a notification, has asked people belonging to 6 persecuted minorities to apply for a certificate of naturalization under the Citizenship Act 2005 and the citizenship rules framed under the law in 2009.

The application of the citizenship will be in online mode, reads the notification.

The Home Ministry said that the verification of the application will be done by Secretary or the Collector of Punjab and Haryana simultaneously at district and state level and will later be accessible on the online portal to the Centre.

The records of such issuance of certificates and application of citizenship will be made online as well as in a physical register.

The notification said, “This order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the official gazette and shall remain valid until further orders.”