NDA had courage to bring in NRC, claims Amit Shah
RS UPROAR Says it is soul of Assam Accord signed by Rajiv NEW DELHI:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Tuesday took on the Opposition for criticising the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft that has excluded over four million people in Assam. He called NRC the soul of the Assam Accord that the then Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, signed in 1985 with leaders of a campaign pressing for identification and deportation of illegal immigrants from the state .
Shah claimed that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government had the “courage” to implement the accord, unlike the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance regime.
“Where did NRC come from…There was an agitation in Assam in which a lot of people died… PM (prime minister) Rajiv Gandhi signed the Assam Accord and the NRC is the soul of that accord,” Shah said in the Rajya Sabha during an acrimonious discussion on the NRC.
He was referring to the understanding under the accord that illegal immigrants, who had entered Assam after the creation of Bangladesh in 1971, would be identified and deported. “Who are you trying to save? Illegal Bangladeshi immigrants?” Shah asked amid opposition to the NRC process, with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claiming it was aimed at evicting Bengalis and Biharis from Assam.
Over 32.9 million had applied for inclusion in the NRC. The updated NRC draft released on Monday triggered panic among those left out. Authorities have sought to calm nerves saying those excluded would have an opportunity to get their names included and that genuine citizens would not be targeted.
Shah’s statement in the Rajya Sabha triggered a ruckus, with Opposition members storming the well of the House .