The CAA was cleared by Parliament in December 2019 amid protests by activists and opposition politicians.

Now that the notification has been issued, the central government can grant citizenship to non-Muslim migrants – from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan – who came to India due to religious persecution before December 31, 2014.

Implementation of the CAA was a major campaign platform for the BJP before the 2019 election.

And this notification comes less than a month after Home Minister Amit Shah called the CAA  “an act of the country” and said, “it will definitely be notified. CAA will come into effect before the election…”

The Home Minister – who led the government’s charge on this topic in both houses of Parliament – also played down fears the CAA, and the NRC, or National Register of Citizens, will be used to target Muslims.

He accused Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee – who has long been one of the CAA’s fiercest and most vocal critics – of deliberately misleading the people of her state on this topic. Bengal – with 42 Lok Sabha seats –  is shaping to be a key battleground for the BJP as it bids to reach its target of 370.

Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee hit out almost immediately, telling reporters at a hastily-convened press conference that her government would steadfastly oppose “anything that discriminates (against) people”.

If there is any discrimination, we won’t accept it. Be it religion, caste, or linguistic. They won’t be able to give citizenship to anyone in two days. This is just lollipop and show-off,” she declared.