India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI, MARCH 02— New Delhi has assured Dhaka that the updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam “will have no implications for Bangladesh or its people.” India’s Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla made this statement at an event in Dhaka on Monday.
“Updation of National Register of Citizens is a process that is entirely internal to India,” Shringla was quoted as saying by PTI news agency at a seminar “Bangladesh & India: A Promising Future” held in Dhaka on Monday.
“India assures Bangladesh that NRC will have no implications for the country and its people,” the Foreign Secretary further said.
The PTI news report was carried by several media outlets including News18.com, Times of India and Outlook.
Foreign Secretary’s statement appears to be in contrast with what the BJP-led central government and its top leaders have been saying over NRC. When the process for Assam NRC was going on and after its completion in August last year, several leaders including Home Minister Amit Shah have said that through NRC the government will identify “Bangladeshi infiltrators” and push them out of India’s borders.
The final list of Assam NRC made public in August last year has excluded around 19 lakh people. They have been given a final chance to prove their bona fide Indian citizenship before the government-formed Foreigners’ Tribunals.
In December last year, when Indian Parliament passed a Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) leading to nationwide massive protest demonstration, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen and Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan had cancelled their visits to India.
CAA seeks to grant Indian citizenship to members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014.
Commenting on Foreign Secretary’s remarks, Navaid Hamid, National President of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM), said: “The whole statement is contradictory to the previous political statements of the ruling BJP. By saying that NRC will not have any implications for Bangladesh, our government is indirectly admitting that those excluded from Assam NRC are not Bangladesh infiltrators. If they are Bangladeshi but you don’t want to send them to Bangladesh, then what will you do with them? What would be their fate?”
Navaid Hamid further asked: “If you are accepting that they are not illegal immigrants of Bangladesh, then tell them where they are from and what their fate will be. When our government is saying that NRC won’t affect Bangladesh then why is it harassing its own citizens? Now the government should offer apology to the countrymen because it has been saying that it would catch each and every infiltrator and send them out.”
Several people on Twitter are also raising similar questions. Here are a few:
मिर्ची सेठ @thedevil_ind : Then what will happen to the allegedly Bangladeshis in India’s detention center?
Tashreef Shareef @tashreefi: If NRC won’t affect Bangladesh, what exactly are the people in detention camps doing?
N S G @NSiddappaji: What is this nonsense? The BJP people saying that millions of Bangladeshis migrate illegally they must send (kick out) out. Now he says different story. The final conclusion is that” NRC is drama to divert attention from weak economy”. Isn’t it.?
