New Delhi: The release of the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam rocked both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday with the Opposition cautioning the government that its practice to “divide and rule” could lead to a “civil war” in the country. The BJP, in turn, defended the Supreme Court-monitored exercise to weed out illegal immigrants by identifying Indian citizens in Assam as essential for national security, and asserted that it will be implemented “to the last full stop”.
On Monday, registrar general of India released the “final draft” of the NRC that had 28,983,677 names out of the 32,991,384 applicants, leaving out over 40,00,000 people who now have to file fresh applications for inclusion in the list.
In the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, where the Chair agreed to suspend Question Hour to take up discussion on the NRC, BJP president and member of the House Amit Shah took a jibe at Congress-led governments at the Centre for having the courage to identify illegal migrants in Assam in accordance with the 1985 Assam Accord.
“The Assam Accord was signed by the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1985 …this NRC is the soul of that accord which your governments could not implement because of lack of courage ...but we are implementing it... Of the over 40 lakh people (whose names did not appear in the NRC) how many are Bangladeshi (illegal migrants)...? Who are you trying to protect,” asked Mr Shah, leading to massive protest by the Congress and Trinamul Congress members, who trooped into the well of the House.
Since the list was released, eye-popping instances of inclusion and exclusion are being reported. While Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah’s name, along with those of his five family members, were in the final draft, the names of the family members of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed were not included.
The issue also rocked the Lok Sabha as Congress members alleged that the government does not have data about the number of illegal immigrants in Assam and not all the 40 lakh people who have not found a place in the draft NRC, were foreigners.
Alleging that the NRC exercise in Assam was done with a “political motive”, to divide people, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in the nati-onal capital, warned that it would lead to bloodbath, civil war in the country.
Attacking the BJP of trying to divide the country, the TMC supremo said, “The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people. The situation cannot be tolerated. There will be a civil war, bloodbath in the country.”
“I am surprised to see that the names of our former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s family members are not on the NRC Assam list. What else can I say? There are so many people whose names are not there,” Ms Banerjee said at an event in Delhi.
In the Rajya Sabha, Assam’s Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)’s Biswajit Daimary claimed that there was no unrest in the state over the NRC issue as the apex court is monitoring the implementation and said the names not included in the NRC list were due to lack of documentary proof and such people have been given time to submit the documents. Demanding complete withdrawal of the exercise, Ms Banerjee dared the BJP to trying implement it in her state. She met Union home minister Rajnath Singh over the issue.
Countering the Oppositions’ charges, the BJP asked them to first clarify their stand on illegal migrants from Bangladesh and asked the Opposition parties to give priority to national security and not vote-bank politics.
The BJP also asserted that the apex court-monitored exercise will be implemented “to the last full stop” as the party stands for national security and Indians’ rights.
TMC members in Rajya Sabha were heard demanding a reply from PM Narendra Modi. The House was adjourned twice as Opposition members continued with slogan shouting.
TMC’s Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said that 40 lakh people being rendered “nationless is unique in the history of the world.” He claimed that Indian citizens as well as government officials have been left out of the draft NRC list.
