Infiltrators will be thrown out, says Amit Shah

BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday accused all the other political parties of endangering national security by encouraging “infiltrators” for vote-bank politics and asserted that the BJP will implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) because it is committed to the human rights of Indian citizens alone. Infiltrators will be “thrown out one by one and will not be allowed to vote”, he added.

Shah further said his party is only fulfilling the spirit of the Assam Accord because the Congress, owing to “vote-bank politics”, never had the courage to implement the legacy of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who signed the Accord in 1985.

The final draft of the NRC in Assam was published on Monday with 2.9 crore names out of the total 3.29 crore applicants. The names of 40.07 lakh applicants did not find a place in the document, touted to be a proof of Assamese identity. Since then, political parties, especially the TMC, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have been slamming the BJP. The TMC has maintained that the BJP wants to divide the country on Hindu/Muslim lines by taking away the citizenship rights of over 40 lakh people in Assam. The Congress’s argument is that the exclusion of 40 lakh people will lead to strife and panic because a number of people, especially the poor, do not have proof of identity in India.

While Home Minister Rajnath Singh had distanced from the process, maintaining that it is an administrative exercise under the supervision of the Supreme Court, the BJP President said the ruling party is “committed to maintaining the sanctity of the borders and the rights of Indian citizens in Assam”.

“In Assam, Bangladeshi infiltrators were creating havoc. The young people of Assam had a prolonged agitation. On August 14, 1985 Assam Accord was signed and the Prime Minister at the time was late Rajiv Gandhi. It was the Congress that signed the Assam Accord. The soul of Assam Accord is NRC. This is to start the process of identifying Indian citizens in Assam. I am making it very clear that infiltrators will be picked up one by one and will not be allowed to vote. I want to ask the Congress, why are you raising questions on NRC because of vote-bank politics,” said the BJP President.

He accused the Congress of compromising national security and human rights of the people of Assam for vote-bank politics.

“You did not have the courage to throw out infiltrators because of vote-bank politics. NRC is not a process started by the BJP. It was the Congress that signed the Accord and then stopped the NRC in 2005. It was through a PIL that the process was re-started. We, the NDA government, re-started the process. About 40 lakh suspicious people have been identified. We are only following the SC order. It is very sad that barring the BJP and the BJD, no other party is willing to say that infiltrators will be thrown out. Do people of Assam not have human rights when their health, education and other rights are being snatched by infiltrators? Does national security matter to these parties,” said Shah.

He asked Congress President Rahul Gandhi and the TMC Chief Mamata Banerjee to clarify their stand on the question of the rights of genuine citizens versus infiltrators.

“People who talk of human rights should know that Bangladeshi infiltrators are violating the rights of Indian citizens. The Congress and TMC should clarify what their stand on human rights of Indian citizens. The BJP is committed to securing our borders and secure the rights of the Indian citizens. This is our top priority. I ask all other parties to clarify their stand. There is nothing unfair about it,” he added.

He said the opposition parties, especially the TMC and the Congress, are spreading panic and misleading people.

“They are creating myths about Biharis, Tamils and Rajasthanis. NRC is only concerning infiltrators from outside the country in Assam. No Indian citizen from any other part of the country is affected. They are creating an atmosphere of terror and creating divisions within states,” said the BJP chief.

“The debate is that 40 lakh Indian nationals have been declared non-citizens. The reality is that 40 lakh people are prima facie not Indian citizens. It has been found that they are not Indian citizens. They will give objections and cross-verification will be done. The Supreme Court will decide finally. These political parties are misleading people by saying that Indian citizens have been eliminated,” he added.

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