Amit Shah says NRC is key to security of India; Mamata Banerjee warns of ‘civil war’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at Opposition parties amid the ongoing row over the publication of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and asked them to clear their stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators.

While the Congress asked the government to adopt a humanitarian approach and not leave out any Indian from the Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC), TMC demanded its complete withdrawal claiming that Indians were left out of it. However, BJP chief said that no genuine Indian citizen's name will be deleted from list.

Addressing media, Shah said that the national security is most important for them and the opposition is politicising it for vote-bank politics.

"By encouraging infiltrators, how can we ensure security at the borders and internal security of the nation? I firmly believe NRC Assam is for the security of the country. We will fully implement Supreme Court's judgment on it," the BJP chief said.

Taking a swipe at Opposition, Shah said that he heard many parties speak in the house (Rajya Sabha) but surprisingly none of them mentioned that this is just a draft list that this is not the final list.

Asking the Congress, TMC and other parties who are speaking against NRC Assam to clear their stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators, Shah said, "NRC was at the heart of the Assam Accord and no Indian citizen should be worried about it."

However, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that the NRC is being done with political motive.

Banerjee alleged that the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam was done with a "political motive" to divide people and warned that it would lead to bloodbath and a civil war in the country.

"The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people. The situation cannot be tolerated. There will be a civil war, blood bath in the country," Banerjee told a conclave here.

Asserting that the present situation cannot go on, Banerjee said she would continue voicing her opposition against the ruling party. 

"No one can give us direction. This is not the politics of India. Indian politics is about tolerance," she said.

Earlier in the day, as the Rajya Sabha debated the NRC issue after Congress and TMC members created an uproar, Shah countered them by asking whether the Congress wanted to save he "illegal Bangladeshis".

He said "this was the Congress PM's initiative. He (Rajiv Gandhi) did not have the courage. We have courage and we are doing it."

Shah's remarks provoked noisy protests by the Opposition members led by those from the Congress and the TMC. The House was first adjourned by Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu for about 10 minutes during the debate and then for the day.

The second and final draft of the NRC with 2.89 crore names out of the total 3.29 crore applicants was published.

However, around 40.07 lakh applicants, did not find a place in the document, touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. One name missing from the list was Mohd Azmal Hoque, a retired soldier from Assam who had served in the military for 30 years and retired on September 30, 2016.

The NRC will include the names of all Indian citizens who have been residing in Assam before March 25, 1971.