Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is proud to take credit for the National Register for Citizens, a list intended to weed out foreigners from the state, while pinning the blame of its second draft – and the chaos it has generated – on the incumbent BJP government.
The fate of 40 lakh people hangs by a thread after they found out this week that their names were missing from the NRC’s second and final draft. The demand for the NRC arose following an influx of migrants during the India-Pakistan war of 1971 in which Bangladesh was liberated.
The veteran Congress politician who led Assam for fifteen years told BloombergQuint in an interview, “Had it been under our supervision, we’d have done it much more efficiently.” He accused the BJP of “discriminating against genuine Indian citizens and dividing the people”.
The Government of India should take up the matter with its Bangladeshi counterpart and persuade them to accept these people. It would be difficult as we don’t have an extradition treaty with Bangladesh.Tarun Gogoi, Former Chief Minister, Assam
(This article was first published on Bloomberg Quint and has been republished with permission.)
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