Anticipating opposition street protests, security forces have been put on high alert following the notification. The CAA was an integral part of the BJP manifesto for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls but the opposition is now whipping up a storm, calling the timing of the notification after it was put on ice for over five years as being highly suspect.

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Even as the Ministry of Home Affairs issued the notification, the Opposition, particularly the Congress, upped the ante, insisting that the timing of the notification had just one aim -  to polarise the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls.

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The Congress also went for the BJP’s weak spot when it pointed out that the government notified the CAA rules, only hours after the Supreme Court trashed the SBI plea for extension of time for furnishing Electoral Bonds details on Monday afternoon.

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The top court on Monday, asked the SBI to furnish the Electoral Bonds details by Tuesday March 12 or face contempt. It has also instructed  the SBI to upload all the relevant information on its website by 5 pm on March 15.

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This is a huge embarrassment for the BJP which is reported to have bagged 95% of the bonds which is  worth crores of rupees.

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The Congress spokesperson has alleged that the CAA notification was a "desperate attempt" to divert attention from the issue of the electoral bonds and change the political discourse.

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It was alleged that the CAA notification was intended to "polarise" the Lok Sabha polls, particularly in West Bengal and Assam. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee on Monday was quick to add her voice, warning that "if people were deprived of their rights, we will fight tooth and nail against it." Barely a fortnight ago, Ms Banerjee had warned that the Aadhar cards of the residents of the state were being "deactivated as a precursor to enforcing the CAA and National Register of Citizens(NRC)’’.

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Other Opposition ruled states such as Kerala were quick to announce that they "will not implement the CAA."

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Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Modi government of using the notification to divide the country on communal lines with the Kerala leader with an eye on the state’s Muslim vote, said he had no intention of implementing CAA.

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The CAA incidentally paves the way for Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Christian and Parsee refugees from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan to get Indian Citizenship. Refugees belonging to these particular communities who came to India following religious persecution before December 31 2014 would be granted citizenship.

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It does not include Muslims. Till date citizenship was regulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955, which specified that citizenship may be acquired  by birth in India, by descent through registration, by naturalisation(extended residence in India) and by incorporation of territory into India.

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However, the move to introduce "religion" as the sixth option to become an Indian citizen was viewed as an attempt to "divide the country on religious lines." The government has clarified that the laws"will not take away the citizenship of any citizens of India." But the Opposition quickly alleged that the CAA combined with a proposed National Register of Citizens "can discriminate against India's 200 million Muslims."

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Interestingly, in a revealing post on X, the Union Home Minister, Amit Shah while announcing the notification stated that with this, the "Prime Minister, Narendra Modiji has delivered on another commitment and realised the promise of the makers of our Constitution to the Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians living in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh."

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Significantly, as the political turmoil over the controversial notification boiled over,  celebrations broke out among a section of the Matua community forming the second largest scheduled caste group in West Bengal. The Matuas, belonging to the Namasudra community migrated

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from East Pakistan after the creation of Bangladesh following "religious persecution and communal tension." The Matuas, comprising 3.8 % of West Bengal's population, have been demanding implementation of the CAA.

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The Matuas form one of the BJP's biggest support base in the state. Electorally the Matua community has considerable influence in at least five Lok Sabha berths in North 24-pargana and Nadia.  Reports indicated that both the Bangaon and Ranaghat Lok Sabha berths are dominated by the Matuas. During the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP had won both these seats. In the 2021 West Bengal Assembly polls the BJP had won 14 of the 15 seats in Matua dominated belt in both Nadia and North 24-parganas. It may be recalled that during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi kicked off his election campaign by seeking blessings from "Boro Maa Binapani Devi-the 100 year old matriarch of the Matua community.