Manoj Tiwari demands NRC-like survey in Delhi

New Delhi: Hours after the final Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on Saturday morning, Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari demanded a similar exercise for the city to identify illegal immigrants, calling the situation in the national capital “dangerous.”

He said that the demand for the NRC will also be part of the party’s election manifesto for the Assembly polls next year.

In the past, many leaders of the BJP have spoken about such lists in other parts of the country.

Mr Tiwari said: “The situation in Delhi is becoming so dangerous that it is necessary to have an NRC. Illegal immigrants who have settled here are the most dangerous. We will implement NRC when the time comes.”

The BJP leader’s statement is significant ahead of the Delhi election next year. This is not the first time that Mr Tiwari has demanded an NRC in the national capital to weed out illegal immigrants. He made a similar demand in May after a man in Delhi’s Moti Nagar area was stabbed to death.

He had said that an NRC should be implemented in Delhi if people do not want to live under the fear of attack from illegal Rohingya immigrants.

The BJP, a staunch supporter of the NRC exercise, had made it a poll issue during the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh last year.

When asked if the saffron party will include it in its manifesto for Delhi polls, the BJP MP said: “Why not? It will be in our manifesto. Delhi needs it. NRC will help in eliminating terrorism and prevent crime by illegal immigrants.”

Speaking about NRC in Assam, Mr Tiwari said: “Illegal migrants, who have entered our country crossing the border, have to go back. But citizens of our nation living in Assam need not worry.”

Slamming the city BJP chief for his comments, the Congress’ women’s wing tweeted: “Manoj Tiwari ji, born in Kaimur, Bihar. Studied in Varanasi, UP. Worked in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Contested in Gorakhpur, UP. Contested again in Delhi, is talking about throwing immigrants away from Delhi. Irony wants a change of name!”