How has Amit Shah declared 40 lakh people as Bangladeshi infiltrators?

How has Amit Shah declared 40 lakh people as Bangladeshi infiltrators? Manish Tewari on NRC row

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday charged the UPA governments of not showing the courage to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Assam as per an accord which was signed by erstwhile Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

Updated: Jul 31, 2018, 06:09 PM IST

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah on Monday charged the UPA governments of not showing the courage to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Assam as per an accord which was signed by erstwhile Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

Addressing a press conference, Shah said that by overlooking the National Register of Citizens (NRC) draft in 2005, the Congress underplayed the safety and security of the Indian citizens just to "play vote-bank politics".

BJP President Amit Shah was quoted saying by ANI: “Congress TMC & other parties who are speaking against NRC should clear their stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators.

By encouraging infiltrators, how can we ensure security at the borders and internal security of the nation? I firmly believe NRC is for the security of the country. We will fully implement SC's judgement on it.”

Reacting, Congress leader Manish Tewari said: "On what empirical evidence, has Amit Shah declared 40 lakh people as Bangladeshi infiltrators? Does PM Modi promise to send these people to Bangladesh? An absurd situation has been created. It will subvert Assam & disrupt entire North East."  

Amit Shah earlier said: "The accord which was signed by Rajiv Gandhi, categorically mentioned that there will be an exercise to evict illegal Bangladeshi immigrants from Assam. It's not my words. It was written in the accord which was signed by Mr. Gandhi."

"I want to ask the Congress party on how can they question this draft when it was started by them. It is them who introduced the NRC draft in 2005. The Congress did not have enough courage to kick out the illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. They left the draft midway after introducing it."

The BJP chief further said that it is the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA Government which continued working on the draft.

"There was a PIL filed by the citizens of Assam in the Supreme Court, following which, there was a time-bound programme on which, the NDA Government under Narendra Modi started working on it. The draft has, finally, been presented to the people of Assam, in which, 40 lakh people have been deemed ineligible. Moreover, the order was pronounced by the Supreme Court and not the Government," Shah emphasised.

The draft list, which was released on Monday, has left out nearly 40 lakh people in Assam incorporating names of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants. The list has been updated for the first time since 1951, to account for illegal migration from nearby Bangladesh.

The opposition parties, including, the Congress have been vociferous against the draft. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, yesterday, took to Twitter to criticise the draft and said the "execution of the critical and highly sensitive exercise is tardy".

BJP chief Amit Shah today said no Indian should be worried about Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC), asserting that names of genuine citizens will not be deleted.

"Opposition is politicising this issue for vote-bank politics. The NRC is an issue about national security and national security is most important for us," he said.

Addressing a press conference here, Shah demanded that all political parties must clarify their stand on the NRC issue.

"NRC was at the heart of the Assam Accord. No Indian citizen should be worried about the NRC. For us, NRC is key to security of the country," he said.

He also underlined that BJP's stand on this issue has always been consistent, while adding that the Congress did not have the courage to implement it and now the Modi government is doing what the Congress could not.

Amit Shah says 40 lakh figure not final, accuses Opposition of 'not clarifying stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators'

Politics FP Staff Jul 31, 2018 17:27:24 IST

   

BJP president Amit Shah, addressing a press conference after the Rajya Sabha witnesses tumultuous scenes over the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue, expressed surprise that 'no party mentioned that the list published on Monday is just a draft and not the final list'.

He further added that the 40 lakh people not included in the NRC draft is not the final figure because they can file their objections and cross-verification remains. Dismissing allegations that the names of Indian citizens have also been excluded, he said the only names that have been left out are those who could not prove their citizenship.

Shah hit out at the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other political parties speaking against the NRC for 'not clarifying their stand on Bangladeshi infiltrators'. He said the Congress did not have the courage to oust the infiltrators, but the BJP's priority is to safeguard India's borders. For BJP, NRC is key to security of the country, he added.

"By encouraging infiltrators, how can we ensure the security at borders and internal security of the nation?" he asked, saying that the NRC is for the security of the country.

The BJP chief also hit out at West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for her remarks that the NRC issue has been raised by the BJP for "electoral gains" and accused her of engaging in vote bank politics. He further said that vote bank politics should not be placed above national interest.

 Assam NRC: Amit Shah says 40 lakh figure not final, accuses Opposition of not clarifying stand on Bangladeshi infiltratorsFile image of BJP president Amit . PTI

Spelling out BJP's stand, Shah said, "We have never practised vote bank politics. We have always demanded the removal of illegal immigrants." He also slammed Congress over its "habit" of changing its stand on political issues. Recalling former prime minister Indira Gandhi's statement that no infiltrator has a place in India, he asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi if he has forgotten those words.

Shah said former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi signed the 'Assam Accord' on 14 August, 1985, after the movement in the state went out of control leading to death of some protesters. The NRC is the soul of the 'Assam Accord', he added, accusing Congress of not having the courage to oust Bangladeshi infiltrators.

Shah also hit out at the erstwhile UPA governments in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday and sought to know whether the Congress wanted to protect the "illegal Bangladeshis" in the eastern state.

He also said the exercise was conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

The Rajya Sabha had taken up the discussion by doing away with the Question Hour, but the debate was disrupted due to vociferous protests by TMC, Congress and some other parties which finally led Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu to adjourn the House for the day.

"NRC is being conducted on the Supreme Court order. There are 40 lakh people (missing in the list) ... Whom do you want to save? You want to save illegal Bangladeshis?" the BJP chief asked.

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