Akali Dal urges Centre to review CAA to make room for Sikhs, Hindus from Afghanistan

New Delhi: Harsimrat Kaur Badal, the Akali Dal MP, asked the union government to review the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to give citizenship to the Hindus and Sikhs who fled from Afghanistan reports NDTV.

The government should prioritise the rehabilitation of the two communities and provide them with a haven in India, she said. Kaur also appealed for the safe return of handwritten holy books along with those evacuated.

"Not only must we rescue our Sikh and Hindu brethren from certain death in Afghanistan, it's imperative we provide them with a safe haven and home here, for this is their own land. I urge PM @narendramodi & HM @AmitShah to make changes in CAA and facilitate their rehabilitation on priority," Harsimrat Kaur Badal wrote in her tweet.

A similar appeal was raised by Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and Akali Dal's Majinder Sirsa, who heads the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. Majinder Sirsa tweeted that India has taken a humanitarian step by supporting minorities of Afghanistan, and it would be great if they were granted citizenship.

The CAA passed in December 2019 offered citizenship for non-Muslim minorities from Muslim majority counties of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh if they fled religious persecution and should have entered India before 2015. While the rule came into effect in January 2020, the regulation regarding the act is yet to be formulated.

Though Akali Dal voted for CAA, they had stressed the inclusion of Muslims.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted a video of him carrying one of the copies of Guru Granth Sahib flown to India from Kabul. Among others, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh praised the government for the evacuation efforts.

India has been carrying out evacuation efforts for more than a week as the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan after two decades.