No genuine Indians will be left out
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday said no genuine Indian would be left out of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and promised that his government would do everything possible to push through a bill that seeks to give Indian citizenship to religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"I am aware that many of you had to face hardships because of the complicated process of compiling the NRC. The exercise had been stuck for a decade and it's moving forward today only because of your strength, “Modi said while addressing a rally in the town of Silchar in Assam.
“I assure you that no injustice will be done to any genuine Indian citizens,” he added.
His statement came just days after the deadline for filing of claims by an estimated 40.7 lakh people who were excluded from the NRC draft final list ended. Of them, about 30.1 lakh people filed claims by December 31 deadline.
Modi said "the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is related to people's lives. It is not for the benefit of anyone but a penance against the injustice and many wrongs done in the past. I hope the bill is passed soon in parliament," he said.
The bill is expected to be placed in the Lok Sabha on January 7 after the joint parliamentary committee finalised its report on the proposed legislation on Thursday.
The prime minister also spoke on his government's decision to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord aimed at safeguarding the cultural, social and linguistic identity of the Assamese people and providing them reservation in certain categories of government jobs.
The Indian cabinet recently approved a proposal to implement Clause 6 of the 1985 Assam Accord that ended years of violent street agitations by All Assam Students Union against “illegal” immigration from Bangladesh into Assam.
"This clause had been hanging for nearly 35 years, but now the road is clear..." he claimed," Modi said.
The BJP swept to power in Assam in 2016 in alliance with the Bodoland Peoples Front and the Asom Gana Parishad, toppling the Congress party.
Comments