Sagardighi(West Bengal): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenged Wednesday the Centre on the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue and iterated that she will never allow the exercise in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier in the day said a citizen’s register on the lines of the NRC exercise in Assam will be implemented out across the country.
Stating that NRC in Assam was part of Assam Accord signed during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the West Bengal chief minister said the exercise can never be implemented across the country.
“There are a 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 that I will never allow NRC in Bengal as long as I am in power,” she said at a public meeting in this town within the border district of Murshidabad.
“No one can take away your (people) citizenship and turn you into a refugee. You are and will remain citizens of this country. There can be no division on the basis of religion,” Banerjee, who is also the Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo, added.
Claiming that there is a ‘conspiracy’ afoot to divide West Bengal on religious lines, Banerjee said if someone thinks that it will be easy to divide Bengal on communal lines then the person is ‘living in a fool’s paradise’.
It should be stated here that Bengal shares a long and porous border with Bangladesh and has about 30 per cent Muslim population.
“A total 19 lakh people have been left out of the Assam NRC list. Those omitted include Hindus, Bengalis, Muslims, Gorkhas and Buddhists. They have been sent to detention camp. In Bengal we (TMC) will never allow any such thing to happen,” asserted Banerjee.
Banerjee, who is a strident critic of the BJP, said that the saffron party should answer why 14 lakh Hindus and Bengalis were omitted from the final NRC list in Assam before it talks about implementing the citizens’ register in West Bengal.
“If you have one citizenship document that’s enough. Even if you don’t need rations that are provided (at a subsidised rate) by the government, ensure that you have digital ration cards. Don’t be misguided by people who want to divide communities, pit one against another,” she told the gathering.
Agencies