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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday told the Rajya Sabha that the NRC process would be carried out across India. He made it clear that there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion. Shah said the Government accepts that refugees - Hindu, Buddhists, Jain, Christians, Sikhs and Parsis - who left Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan due to religious atrocities should get Indian citizenship. Mamata Banerjee, however, refused to budge. She assured the people of West Bengal that she would not allow NRC in the state.
"The process of National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be carried out across the country. No one irrespective of their religion should be worried. It is just a process to get everyone under the NRC," Shah said replying to a supplementary during Question Hour in the Upper House. He said there is no provision in NRC that people belonging to other religions will not be included in the register.
"People from all religions who are Indian citizens will be included. There is no question of any discrimination on the basis of religion. NRC is a different process and the Citizenship Amendment Bill is different," Shah said. In Assam, the NRC process was carried out as per Supreme Court order, he said and added that when the NRC process will be implemented in the entire country Assam will also be included. The Home Minister said that in Assam, people whose name has not figured in the draft list, have the right to go to the Tribunal.
"Tribunals will be constituted across Assam. If any person doesn't have the money to approach tribunals, then the Assam government will bear the cost to hire a lawyer," he said. He reiterated that all citizens of India irrespective of religion will figure in the NRC list.
The Home Minister said the government accepts that Hindu refugees, Buddhists, Jain, Christians and Sikh and Parsi should get this country's citizenship and this is why the Citizenship Amendment Bill is there.
"All refugees coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan on account of religious atrocities will get citizenship under the Bill," he said. He said Lok Sabha had passed the Bill and the Select Committee had approved it but Lok Sabha had lapsed. "Now it will come again. It has no connection with the NRC," he said.
On the other hand, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee sought answers from the BJP over exclusion of 14 lakhs Hindus and Bengalis from the final NRC list in Assam.
"There are few people, who are trying to create disturbance in the state in the name of implementation of NRC. I want to make it very clear, we will never allow NRC in Bengal. "No one can take away your citizenship and turn you into a refugee. There can be no division on the basis of religion," Banerjee said while addressing a public meeting.
Before talking about implementing NRC in West Bengal, the BJP should answer why 14 lakhs Hindus and Bengalis were omitted from the final NRC list in Assam, she said. The proposed implementation of the citizen's list or the National Register of Citizens in Bengal has created panic claiming 11 lives in the state following the omission of about 19.6 lakh names from the final NRC list in Assam.
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(With PTI inputs)
