Discontent is brewing in different quarters of BJP over the final draft of Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) list that was released on 31 August.
This list that aims to identify illegal foreign settlers in Assam excludes more than 19 lakh people. Himanta Biswa Sarma, a BJP minister in the state, has said that it has left out “so many genuine Indians”.
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“We have lost hope in the present form of the NRC right after the draft. When so many genuine Indians are out, then how can you claim that this document is a red letter for the Assamese society.”Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Minister and Senior BJP Leader
He indicated that the BJP might employ different strategies in future on identifying illegal settlers and tweeted in favour of re-verification.
“NRC is no quarter final, semi-final and final for driving out Bangladeshis...wait a while and you will see more finals under the BJP regime,” he told reporters.
Speaking to NDTV, Sarma also said, “We will keep rejecting each faulty NRC until Assam and India's interests are secured. The fight will go on.”
Delhi, Telangana Leaders Suggest NRC
While Himanta Sarma expressed dissatisfaction with the final NRC list, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that the exercise was needed in Delhi too. He said that the “situation is becoming dangerous.”
“Illegal immigrants who have settled here are the most dangerous, we will implement NRC here as well.”Manoj Tiwari, Delhi BJP Chief
The Telangana BJP has made a similar demand. In a press statement issued by party chief spokesperson for Telangana state K Krishna Saagar Rao, the BJP said it intends to apprise Home Minister Amit Shah of its demand for NRC in the state.
The party has alleged that the illegal immigrant issue is a “ticking time bomb” and can have “very dangerous consequences for “communal harmony, peace and stable law & order in the state.”
The statement also alleged that the AIMIM was turning a blind eye towards these illegal immigrants in the state as “these illegals are being used by AIMIM in variety of ways apart from using them as illegal voters during elections.”
Concern Raised by BJP Assam Unit President
Days before the list came out, BJP's Assam unit president Ranjit Dass had also expressed similar discontent at a press conference and blamed a “whimsical” NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela for preparing a citizenship document, The Hindu reported.
A source within the BJP's Assam unit had also told The Wire, “...we will do everything to redress such injustice. We will not allow the exclusion of any genuine citizens, be it Hindu, Muslim or Christian. All our party workers have been instructed to help such people get legal aid.”
Assam has a mixed population of Bengali and Assamese-speaking as well as Muslims and a significant number of Bengali Hindus, who also make up BJP's vote base have been left out of the list.
And this has been a cause of concern amongst BJP leaders in the state. According to a report on NDTV, recently, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also met the Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss new laws and strategies to deal with foreigners in the state.
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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