BJP made 40l citizens ‘foreigners’ within minute, alleges TMC chief
A day after the BJP-led Assam Government published the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), firebrand Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee fired salvo at the “ruling party” accusing it of denying the “voting” and “citizenship” rights to more than 40 lakh “citizens” staying in Assam and making them “foreigners” within a minute.
She also called on Home Minister Rajnath Singh asking him to clarify whether a similar exercise is planned for West Bengal.
“People who are living here since 200 years, 100 years and even 30 years have been suddenly told by the ruling regime that you are neither a voter nor a citizen of India. I am really shocked to see how the Indians became foreigners,” she said, adding it is by the vote of these people that the BJP came to power.
Mamata was speaking at the Constitution Club here in a programme named “love Your Neighbour” organised by the Christian community.
She said the “ruling regime” is of the view that people should be discriminated on the basis of party allegiance to “BJP” and “non-BJP” people, with only former entitled to stay in the country and enjoy all sorts of rights while the later are meant to be ousted.
Mamata expressed dismay over the incidents of “lynching” and alleged discrimination meted out to minorities, including Christians, Dalits, tribals and others speculating that if such incidents continue unabated it will lead the country into a “civil war” or a “blood war”.
“Civil unrest has already started in all the districts of Assam with Section 144 being imposed to control the situation,” she said. Mamata said she is surprised and shocked to know that even family members of former President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed are not included in the NRC list and are not considered as citizens of India.
Further she said the NRC list has hit hard on all the people of Assam cutting across different communities, region and religion.
“It is not only the Bengali’s minorities, Hindus, people from Bihar, Rajasthan and people who are from all over India have been denied their voting rights and citizenship in Assam by the ruling regime. It is because of their votes that the ruling party came in power but I am shocked to see how these 40 lakh Indians became foreigner within a minute,” Mamata said.
She said speculation is rife that after Assam the next would be other States, including the West Bengal, but she will not let any such thing happen in her native State.
The first draft of the NRC included the names of over 2.89 crore out of 3.29 crore applicants in Assam even as it left 40 lakh people out of the register for some “discrepancies”.
However the Registrar General of India (RGI) assured that the citizens who do not find their names in the document will be given ample opportunity to enter their names in the final NRC.
Banerjee later met Home Minister Rajnath Singh and asked him to clarify whether the Centre intended to carry out an exercise similar to NRC-Assam in West Bengal. “I came here to talk on the NRC. Submitted a list of 40 lakh people who had been left out. I have told him that his leadership is claiming that next NRC would be in Bengal. Who has given them that authorityij” Mamata told reporters after meeting Rajnath.
The TMC chief also urged the Union Home Minister to bring in amendments to end the problems being faced by the people in Assam. later, the Home Minister issued a statement stating that the draft NRC had been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord and under the monitoring of the Supreme Court.
“I told her that the draft NRC had been published in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord and as per decisions taken in a tripartite meeting on February 05, 2005 between the Centre, State Government of Assam and All Assam Students Union to update NRC, 1951,” Rajnath said in the statement.
Rajnath had also added that he had told Mamata that the NRC updation exercise was being carried out in a “totally fair, transparent, non discriminatory and legal manner”. Nobody will be harassed in this entire process and at every stage of the process, adequate opportunity of being heard will be given to all persons, he said.