NRC Assam Row Rocks Rajya Sabha; Opposition Attacks BJP For 'Politicising' Issue, Amit Shah Says 'Only We Had The Guts to Implement it'
The National Register For Citizens (NRC) issue hit Parliament on Tuesday as the Opposition parties launched an all-out attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party for leaving out 40 lakh people from the final draft.
New Delhi, July 31: The National Register For Citizens (NRC) issue hit Parliament on Tuesday as the Opposition parties launched an all-out attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party for leaving out 40 lakh people from the final draft. The Congress, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party among others accused the BJP government in Assam of making NRC a political issue.
Speaking in Rajya Sabha today, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Genuine Indians should not be sent out of the country. NRC should not be politicised and used as vote bank. It is a human rights issue, not a Hindu-Muslim issue." Here's what Congress President Rahul Gandhi said about the NRC Assam final draft.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said that the NRC draft released on Monday leaving out 40 lakh people shows that even genuine citizens were being treated as refugees in their own country. ("Where Will the 40 Lakh People Whose Names Have been Deleted from NRC List Go," asks Mamata Banerjee)
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati also slammed the government saying, "Citizenships of 40 lakhs minorities have been almost seized in NRC draft in BJP-ruled Assam. If ppl living for a long time in Assam haven't been able to provide proof about their citizenship, it doesn't mean they should be thrown out of the country."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), meanwhile, put the blame on the Congress. BJP chief Amit Shah, while speaking in Rajya Sabha, said, "Rajiv Gandhi signed Assam Accord in 1985, which was similar to NRC. They did not have the courage to implement it, we did."
Shah's statement led to a huge uproar in Rajya Sabha as Opposition entered the well of the House. Following the ruckus, the House was adjourned for the day.
The Assam government released the second and final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) for the state on Tuesday. The final draft of NRC Assam was available online at nrcassam.nic.in. Out of 3.29 crore people, 2.89 crore have been found eligible to be included. Names of 40,05,007 people haven't been mentioned in the list. Among these is the nephew of former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.
The government has said that those who don't find their names in the NRC final draft can file objection application starting August 30.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 31, 2018 01:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).