Opposition slams Amit Shah's plan of countrywide NRC implementation

A day after Union Minister Amit Shah said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented countrywide, opposition parties, including Congress and TMC, spoke against the decision and warned the Centre not to implement it in the future.

Speaking on the issue, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reasserted that the NRC will not be implemented in her state.

“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 West Bengal as long as I am in power in the state,” Mamata said on Wednesday.

Adding that the NRC in Assam was part of the Assam Accord signed during the tenure of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, Mamata said the exercise can never be implemented across the country.

“No one can take away your (people) citizenship and turn you into a refugee. You are and will remain the citizens of this country. There can be no division on the basis of religion,” Mamata further said.

Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury expressed similar concerns in Lok Sabha on Thursday. "I think the government and the ruling party are hell-bent on dividing the society on communal lines. All issues relating to the NRC need to be discussed", he said.

Another leader that echoed similar sentiments was JDU's Prashant Kishor. Taking to microblogging website Twitter, he said, "15 plus states with more than 55% of India’s population have non-BJP Chief Ministers. Wonder how many of them are consulted and are on-board for NRC in their respective states!!".

15 plus states with more than 55% of India’s population have non-BJP Chief Ministers. Wonder how many of them are consulted and are on-board for NRC in their respective states!!

— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) November 20, 2019

On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told the Upper House of the Parliament that the government has plans to implement NRC across the country.

He further added that NRC has no such provision which says that no other religion will be taken under NRC. All citizens of India, irrespective of religion, will figure in the NRC list.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register maintained by the government containing names & certain relevant information for identification of Indian citizens in Assam. The register has segregated Indian citizens living in Assam from those who had illegally entered the state from Bangladesh after 1971.