PM Modi does not require a citizenship certificate. Here’s why

Amid the chaos reigning across the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), the question of whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi possesses a citizenship certificate to prove his identity as an Indian citizen arose.

A petition filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act by an applicant named Subhankar Sarkar seeking the citizenship certificate of Modi received an interesting reply.

The response read, “Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is a citizen of India by birth in terms of Section 3 of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and as such, the question of his having a citizenship certificate which is for citizenship by registration does not arise.”

Simply put, Modi does not have a citizenship certificate, nor does he require one to prove his identity as an Indian citizen since Section 3 of the Citizenship Act grants him citizenship by birth.

Section 3 grants citizenship by birth to every person born in India on or after January 26, 1950 and before July 1, 1987.

Since Modi was born on September 17, 1950, he is automatically given citizenship by birth.

Section 3 also grants citizenship by birth to those born on or after July 1, 1987, but before the commencement of implementation of the amended Citizenship Act, 2003, when either of the person’s parents happens to be a citizen of India at the time of his birth.

Further, it grants citizenship by birth on or after the commencement of the CAA of 2003, when both the person’s parents are citizens of India, or one of his/her parents is a citizen of India, and the other is not an illegal migrant at the time of his birth.

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Meanwhile, BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao, while conducting an open debate on the lawns of Centre for Cultural Resources and Training on Friday (February 28), posed a question that seemed to suggest that Modi or his mother may not be having a birth certificate to prove their citizenship under the National Register for Citizens (NRC).

When asked how a citizen should prove his/her citizenship if their ancestors’ date of birth was sought in the NRC process, he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express, “Do you think Narendra Modiji has a birth certificate? Do you think his mother has one? If and when we decide to implement the NRC, all the issues raised by the stakeholders will be addressed and a framework will be formulated. This will be subject to judicial scrutiny. If somebody moves court, the framework has to prove that the undertaking was in accordance with the Constitution. Otherwise, the entire exercise will fall apart.”

He also said that the Centre was only focused on implementing the CAA and not the NRC or the National Population Register (NPR).