New Delhi, Mar 11 (IANS): A large number of Hindu refugees living in the national capital and other parts of the country are an ecstatic lot today.

They are elated over the imminent end to their decades-old ordeal and dream of getting Indian citizenship after the Centre on Monday notified the rules for the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), paving the way for its implementation weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Expressing joy over the Centre's move, many Hindu refugees thanked the Narendra Modi government for ending their travail and tribulation.

Sukhnand, who describes himself as the chief of the Hindu refugee community in Delhi’s Majnu Ka Tila area, told IANS, "We are very happy with this move. All our families and relatives are overjoyed. The implementation of CAA is like a festival for us, even bigger than Diwali and Holi.”

Speaking to IANS, Sukhnand reminisced about his escape from Pakistan, as he stated that they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

"We are thankful to the Modi government for bestowing us the gift of citizenship. All of us fled had Pakistan because of oppression and persecution, and we are grateful to the Centre for making us an inhabitant of this land,” he said.

To celebrate the ‘good news’, he and other members of the Hindu refugee community also raised slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Jai Hind, Jai Bharat'.

Notably, the Centre on Monday announced the implementation of CAA for granting citizenship to the people of certain faiths, including Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who faced religious prosecution in countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh and migrated to India before December 31, 2014.