Kaithal (Haryana): Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday pitched for the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in his state as it heads for Assembly elections, possibly within the next few weeks.
Speaking exclusively to this newspaper, the chief minister said Haryana too needs implementation of the NRC. “It is due to the NRC that citizens and illegal aliens can be differentiated. If someone is migrating from one country to another, we need to see whether that person can assimilate into our country and culture,” Mr Khattar said.
“The government needs to ensure that the loyalty of residents of the country lies with India, and not with the country from where he/she has migrated,” he added. This newspaper had on September 2 reported that the BJP is likely to rake up the NRC issue in the poll-bound states. The demand for NRC implementation in other parts of the country comes as Assembly polls are looming in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, and in Delhi next year.
The chief ministeer was also upbeat about the abrogation of Article 370, and said Haryana would benefit immensely from it. “Through this move Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ensured that Jammu and Kashmir is fully integrated into India. This will definitely help the state as Haryana has just two per cent of India’s population and has about 10 per cent representation in the security forces. We hope we won’t have to receive their bodies in coffins after the abrogation of Article 370 as our government tries to normalise the situation in that state,” he added. The CM was on a mass contact programme, Jan Aashirwad Yatra, ahead of the elections to the 90-member state Assembly.
The chief minister added that this time the poll manifesto would also be different as it would have a provision for harnessing the true potential of all Haryanvis. “We will form a new human resources department that will assess the potential of our population and also devise policies for their proper utilisation,” Mr Khattar added.
