Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said Hindu, Sikh and Jain refugees from Bangladesh who came to India due to religious persecution and have applied for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) will receive Indian citizenship within six months. While addressing a meeting at Kawakhali in Siliguri, Amit Shah said that the Union Home Ministry is working with the state administration to speed up the process.

“The Hindu, Sikh and Jain refugees who have come from Bangladesh will get citizenship in the next six months. That is my promise. The Union Home Ministry is in touch with the state administration and they have been empowered,” Shah said while addressing a meeting at Kawakhali in Siliguri.

Shah said the government had taken steps to ensure that eligible refugees do not have to wait for a long period to receive citizenship. He said the Union Home Ministry has authorised eight district collectors in West Bengal to grant citizenship to eligible applicants under the CAA. The move gives district-level authorities a greater role in handling the pending applications.

“All the refugees will definitely be granted Indian citizenship with dignity,” he said.

The announcement comes two days after the Ministry of Home Affairs empowered district collectors in eight border states and Union Territories to process pending citizenship applications under the CAA. The decision will make the process more accessible at the district level and shift the responsibility for processing applications from central-level committees to local authorities.

Previously, CAA applications were processed by empowered committees comprising officials from the central government. These committees included representatives from departments and agencies such as the Census, Intelligence Bureau and postal departments. The latest move allows district collectors to take up the processing of eligible applications in the areas covered by the order.

In West Bengal, eight district collectors have now been authorised to handle the citizenship process for eligible applicants. The state shares a long border with Bangladesh and has a significant number of people who migrated from the neighbouring country. Shah said the authorities would ensure that eligible refugees receive citizenship with dignity.

The Home Minister also targeted the Trinamool Congress and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over her earlier opposition to the CAA. Shah recalled the political opposition faced by the law when the government introduced it. He said Banerjee had questioned whether the Centre would be able to implement the law in West Bengal.

“When we introduced the CAA, Mamata Banerjee used to mock me. She used to say that we cannot implement the act as her government will not allow us to do that. Mamatadidi, you did not agree to implement the act, but both you and your government had to go. We have the BJP government here now,” Shah said.

The CAA provides a route to Indian citizenship for members of specified non-Muslim communities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who entered India under the conditions set out in the law. The government has been processing applications submitted under the Act, while the latest administrative decision seeks to speed up the handling of pending cases.

Shah's six-month assurance deadline for granting citizenship will prioritise eligible applicants from Bangladesh. His statement also signals that the Centre wants state and district-level authorities to play a larger role in completing the process. The empowerment of district collectors is expected to help authorities to deal with applications at the local level rather than relying only on committees made up of central government officials.

The announcement also brings the CAA back at the centre of the political debate in West Bengal. Shah used the occasion to contrast the BJP government's position with the Trinamool Congress stand. He said the state government had opposed the implementation of the law in the past, while the BJP government in West Bengal would now facilitate the process.