GUWAHATI: Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) has come down heavily on the BJP-led governments at the Centre and state, saying that the ruling party must now own responsibility for the alleged NRC discrepancies as it had once termed the citizens register as a “historic document” and taken credit for the exercise.
APCC president Ripun Bora asked the ruling party why it did not object to the alleged entry of foreigners’ names in the NRC final list during the NRC update exercise now that the state BJP has sought re-verification after casting doubts on the process.
Bora said there were objections against only 1.87 lakh people out of the 2.89crore who had made it the draft NRC last year.
“BJP is now alleging there are foreigners’ names in the final list. But to substantiate that allegation, they have to produce evidence. Or else, it would be construed as nothing but drama and a show of their two-faced character,” he said, alleging further that the ruling party apparently wants the “foreigners issue” to linger for the sake of its political interests.
Bora also took a dig at the Union home minister, Amit Shah, for his statement during the NEDA conclave here that “no Indian would be left out of NRC.”
“If this was the case, then how come there have been so many indigenous people left out of the final list. We have evidence to show that many genuine Indians have been left out,” he said.
CAB jab
The Assam Congress also slammed Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal for not raising its voice against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) at the NEDA conclave attended by Union home minister and BJP national president, Amit Shah on Monday.
“Three Northeast chief ministers, Conrad K Sangma (Meghalaya), Neiphiu Rio (Nagaland) and Zoramthanga (Mizoram) had expressed apprehensions against CAB and the perceived threat it posed to indigenous communities and the laws of the land. But our chief minister and the minister from AGP, were silent on the issue,” the APCC president said.
Asserting that the Congress will not compromise on safeguarding the state’s interests, Bora said that the citizens register would have little meaning as on the other hand the ruling party was hell bent on bring CAB.
‘Waste paper’ comment
The APCC chief further defended the comment by former chief minister and senior party leader, Tarun Gogoi who had time and again said that the “NRC would be a waste paper”. “What he (Gogoi) meant was that the citizens register would be rendered ineffective if CAB came into force,” Bora said.