NRC becomes political hot potato in WB

Midnapore/Kolkata: With the NRC becoming a political hot potato in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee claimed on Wednesday 11 people have committed suicide fearing loss of citizenship, while senior BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya asserted the exercise will be undertaken in the state but no Hindu will be deported.
Banerjee, who has often been accused by the BJP of Muslim appeasement, asked Block Development Officers and public representatives to visit every household to assuage the concerns of people about getting stripped of citizenship.
BJP general secretary Vijayvargiya, however, insisted a NRC will be prepared in the state but no Hindu will be left out.
“So many people have died. 11 people have died so far over this NRC panic. I would ask government officials and public representatives to visit every household in their respective areas and allay public fear,” she told an administrative meeting.
“There will be no NRC in Bengal,” she declared.
The state’s TMC government has also started issuing advertisements to television and print media asking people not to panic.
A 4-minute audio-visual clip being aired by local TV channels shows Banerjee asking people not to panic or be misled by “false claims” about NRC.
Banerjee said her government’s programme to issue, replace and update ration cards had nothing to do with the NRC, as some people apprehended.
Though the Centre is yet to decide on whether to replicate the NRC exercise in West Bengal, large queues of people are being seen outside the offices of BDOs, borough offices and civic body offices across the state for the last few days to procure documents that could prove that the state has been their place of residence. (PTI)