Mamata Banerjee Misleading People about NRC, Each Infiltrator Will Be Shown the Door, Says Amit Shah

Kolkata: Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah reiterated on Tuesday that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented in West Bengal and that all infiltrators will be thrown out of the country. However, before implementing the NRC in Bengal, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will be passed to accord Indian citizenship to all Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist refugees, he added.

"Didi (Mamata Banerjee) is saying she will not let NRC happen in West Bengal, but I assure you that each and every infiltrator in India will be shown the door. You must know that it was Mamata didi who had demanded action against illegal infiltration at Parliament during Left rule on August 4, 2005. As an opposition leader she used to allege the CPI(M) was using immigrants as a votebank. What has happened now," Shah said at an event at Kolkata’s Netaji Indoor Stadium.

"Mamata Di is saying that millions of Hindus will have to leave West Bengal. There cannot be a bigger lie than this. Today, I want to assure Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Christian refugees — you will not be forced to leave India by the Centre. Don't believe in rumours. Before the NRC, we will bring in the Citizenship Amendment Bill, which will ensure these people get Indian citizenship. There is a panic in Bengal because of misinformation being spread by the Trinamool Congress," he said.

“The Narendra Modi government has taken a pledge to help Hindu Bengali refugees in West Bengal who came from Bangladesh and Pakistan. Also, we are committed to stop illegal immigration. Therefore, this Citizenship bill is necessary. This bill is meant to restore the lost dignity of Bengali Hindus... and the Matua community. We will first implement the citizenship bill here and then we will throw all illegal infiltrators from this state through NRC. No one can stop us from creating a ‘Sonar Bangla’ (golden Bengal).”

"No country in the world can run smoothly while carrying the burden of so many intruders. This has to stop. We are working towards changing Bengal. NRC is a must. We will have to implement NRC to ensure the country's safety and security," Shah said.

According to several observers and politicians, many residents of West Bengal are anxious about the issue of the Centre’s counter-infiltration tool NRC. About a dozen people have allegedly either ended their lives or died of shock on learning that, after Assam, the drive against illegal immigrants would be implemented in Bengal.

People have been rushing to government and municipal offices in droves over the last few days to obtain documents that could prove West Bengal has been their place of residence for long.

The issue has become the latest flashpoint between the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP, which is in power at the Centre and is looking to make inroads into this yet-to-be-conquered terrain by the 2021 Assembly polls.

The TMC has sought to project the NRC exercise in Assam as an "anti-Bengali" move after nearly 12 lakh Bengali-speaking people, including a large number of Hindus, were left out of the final list of citizens published on August 31.

Banerjee, a strident critic of both the BJP and the NRC, has claimed 11 people have committed suicide so far out of fear of being rendered stateless in the event of the

citizenship register being prepared in the state, and declared she will never allow the exercise to be undertaken in Bengal. "The NRC exercise will not be carried out in Bengal or anywhere else in country, it was conducted in Assam due to Assam accord," she had earlier said.

On Tuesday, without naming Shah, she said, "Please don't create rift among people. Bengal is known to respect leaders of different faiths for ages. None can spoil that." She was speaking at the inauguration of a Puja pandal.

BJP’s state unit vice-president Joyprakash Majumdar said, “The TMC is misleading the people. The Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, Buddhists, Christians and Parsis should not be worried as they will be the beneficiaries of the citizenship bill who came to India before December 31, 2014. Where is the question of NRC coming first? It was only in Assam because of the accord signed by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.”

While thanking the people of Bengal for helping the BJP secure the historic 18 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, Shah said, “This time the BJP managed to cross 300-plus seats because of Bengal. If we failed to win the good number of seats here, it would have been difficult for us to cross the 300 mark. Aaj Pura Bangal Bhajapa-maye Ho Gaya Hai (Today, the entire Bengal is inclining towards BJP). More than 2.5 crore people (nearly 40 per cent electors) cast their vote in favour of the BJP in Bengal. This shows that in the coming elections (municipal and Assembly) we will surely going to get absolute majority.”

"The blood of BJP workers that has been shed in Bengal will not go in vain. You've given a chance to Communists, Congress and the Trinamool Congress. Now is the time to give a chance to the BJP to form the government and change West Bengal," Shah said.

Meanwhile, Trinamool MLA and former Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation Sabyasachi Dutta joined the saffron camp in the presence of Shah on Tuesday.

(With inputs from PTI)