Haryana government has no papers on chief minister’s citizenship

The Haryana government doesn't have documents on the citizenship of state functionaries including Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, cabinet ministers and the Governor, a Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed. 

A Panipat-based activist had filed an RTI On January 20, seeking details about the citizenship proof of the Chief Minister, cabinet ministers, and Governor Satyadev Narayan Arya, NDTV reported.

Responding to PP Kapoor's RTI, Haryana's Public Information Officer (PIO) said they didn't have any information regarding this in their records. "The citizenship documents might be available with the Election Commission," Poonam Rathi said.

During the state election campaign last September, Manohar Lal Khattar had promised to implement the National Register of Citizens or NRC, to check illegal immigration.

"In Haryana we will implement NRC along the lines of Assam," Mr Khattar had said after meetings with former Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba and a retired high court judge HS Bhalla where the issue was discussed.

The retired judge had recommended a "state-specific ID card" to keep anti-social elements at bay.

"I said that we will implement NRC in Haryana and have sought Bhalla-ji's support and suggestion," Mr Khattar had said.

At a press briefing this year in January, the Chief Minister had informed that about 1,500 people who came to India after facing religious persecution in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan were living in Haryana, and that they can now be given citizenship because of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA.

"Around 1,500 people belonging to different minority communities of these three countries have been living in Haryana. Out of these 1,500, there is only one Muslim family," Mr Khattar had said.