Uttar Pradesh: Amid CAA uproar, people queue up to receive birth certificates at Hapur

Amid row over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), several people on Wednesday, December 25, Hapur Municipal Corporation office witnessed heavy footfalls as scores of people swarmed to receive their birth certificates. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that all the documents should be there for the citizenship, so we are preparing for it," a local told ANI. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, citizenship of India will be proved by submitting any document related to the date of birth or place of birth or both.

'Rush has increased from past one week': Executive Officer

According to the Executive Officer of the Hapur Municipal Corporation, JK Anand, scores of people have been visiting the corporation to collect the certificate and the rush has increased from past one week. He said, "We are issuing birth certificates but we are facing some difficulties too. People are coming asking for birth certificates with 1948 or 52 birth year, such backdated statistics are not easy to find. Though we are doing our best as we can."

Read: RJD slams BJP, says money spent on CAA-NRC ad campaigns could've restored enonomy's health

Read: 'Muslims can go to 150 countries, Hindus have only India' says Gujarat CM backing CAA

CAA — a relief for non-Muslim refugees

The Citizenship Act was passed in the Lok Sabha on December 9 and then by the Rajya Sabha on December 11. The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Through this bill, Indian citizenship will be provided to the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country.

Protests against CAA

Several violent protests have been erupting across Assam, West Bengal, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh against the newly amended Citizenship Act. After the violence erupted in Jamia Millia Islamia university where over 50 students were detained by police during the protests, students across the country staged protests in solidarity. It spread to more places like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pondicherry, Patna and so on. 

Read: BSP supremo Mayawati demands probe into deaths during UP's violent anti-CAA agitation

Read: WATCH | BSP's Sudhindra Bhadoria: 'Govt's focus should be on economy, not NPR, NRC or CAA'

(With ANI inputs)