'India cannot be a 'dharamshala' for illegal migrants,' says Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Guwahati: The Bharatiya Janata Party said it would update the National Register of Citizens across the country after the exercise is complete in Assam.

BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan on Friday said India cannot be a "dharamsala (shelter)" for illegal migrants.

Chouhan said: “NRC is not only for Assam; it is a must for the entire country and we will get this done. We cannot allow the country to be turned into a dharamsala that anyone and everyone can illegally enter and stay forever. We will change this. For Assam, we will look forward to the Supreme Court to ensure that an error-free NRC is published."

Chauhan is on a three-day visit to the north-east for party events. He also backed the Assam government for its decision to release the sensitive draft NRC data in the state Aon August 1.

The opposition has decided to write to the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the NRC exercise, alleging that the BJP government has violated the top court's order and leaked the draft NRC's district-wise break-up to earn political points.

A controversy erupted in Assam after the state government released confidential data on Assam's citizenship drive. The data had been submitted in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court in August 2018 by NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela.

In an order in September last year, the court had said the "confidential reports" submitted in "sealed covers" should not be made available to anyone because of their "sensitive nature".