Picture Courtesy The Indian Express
Explaining the government stand on the tricky NRC list, Union home minister Rajnath Singh has said the National Register of Citizen in Assam was fair and objective and warned the opposition against its alleged attempts to create an atmosphere of “fear and communal disharmony on social media”.
The opposition has been vehement in its accusations that the government is using the NRC exercise to target certain communities for political gains. The matter reached a boiling point when a Trinamool Congress delegation was prevented from entering Assam by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government at the Silchar airport .
The NRC final draft, which seeks to prove citizenship and weed out illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and neighbouring regions, didn’t include the names of over 40 lakh of the total 3.29 residents of Assam.
The minister said every country wants to identify its genuine citizens and “it is their responsibility” as he sought the cooperation of all parties since it is a matter of national security.
“It is unfortunate that an atmosphere of fear has been created. Some confusion has been created through some people. Propaganda has been carried out through vested interest on social media to internationalise the issue and disturb the communal harmony,” he said.
