Slamming West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her statement on the update of National Register of Citizens (NRC), the Assam government on Thursday said her words were "derogatory, insulting to Assamese, and against the Constitution as well as the spirit of Supreme Court".
Assam minister Chandra Mohan Patowary termed Mamata's speech against the NRC update as "politically motivated" and made to "appease her vote bank".
We condemn Mamata Banerjee’s statement. It is derogatory and insulting to people of Assam. It is against the Constitution of India and the spirit of the Supreme Court.Chandra Mohan Patowary, Industry Minister, Assam
Mamata had in a meeting in West Bengal on Wednesday, accused the Centre of "hatching a conspiracy" to drive out Bengalis from Assam by "excluding" their names from the first draft of the NRC, which was published at midnight on 31 December.
People have gone there (Assam) to work. In the name of NRC, they are planning to drive them out. I warn the BJP government at the Centre not to play with fire. It should not follow a divide and rule policy... this is a conspiracy of the Centre to drive out around 1.8 crore people from the state (Assam).Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister, West Bengal
Patowary said Assam was like a "mini-India", and all sections of the society live in the state peacefully.
"She is making such emotional statements to appease her vote bank. She is unhappy that there was no disturbance after the first draft of the NRC was published and could not gain any advantage," the state industry minister said.
Responding to Mamata's allegations of a conspiracy to drive Bengali-speaking people out of Assam, Patowary asked her to submit evidence to the Supreme Court, which is monitoring the update process of the NRC.
She should not make such statements without knowing all facts. Both our states enjoy good relations.Chandra Mohan Patowary
The much awaited first draft of the NRC contains 19 million names, out of the 32.9 million applicants, as citizens of India, in a massive exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh.
The Registrar General of India has said that the rest of the applications are at various stages of verification.
FIR Against Mamata For ‘Derogatory’ Remarks
The Assam Police even registered an FIR against West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday upon complaints over her allegation that the Centre was conspiring to drive Bengalis out of Assam with the state's National Register of Citizens (NRC) that is being updated.
The FIR sparked an angry response from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which said such an action would not stop her from fighting for the cause of Bengalis, while the BJP accused Banerjee of trying to make an "issue out of a non-issue" for reaping political dividends.
Numerous groups staged protests across Assam, condemning the statement by the TMC chief.
At several places, including in Tinsukia and Biswanath, Banerjee’s effigies were burnt.
The NRC of 1951 is being updated in Assam, under the supervision of the Supreme Court, to identify original residents of the state in order to check illegal migration.
Deputy Commissioner (Central) of Guwahati Police Ranjan Bhuyan told PTI, "Latasil police station received a complaint regarding an alleged speech of the West Bengal Chief Minister.
We have registered the complaint and will carry out the investigation as per law.`Ranjan Bhuyan, Deputy Commissioner, Guwahati Police (Central).
The complaint was filed by Gauhati High Court advocate Tailendra Nath Das and the police have registered an FIR under Section 153(A) of the Indian Penal Code, he added.
The section pertains to promoting enmity among groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony.
Das also accused Banerjee of contempt of the apex court as the update of the NRC is being done under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court.
A similar complaint was filed by another person and it would be merged with the registered FIR, the police said.
Yet another complaint was filed at the Dispur police station in the city by Krishak Shramik Unnayan Parishad President Pradeep Kalita alleging that the chief minister was spreading enmity between people through her speech.
We have received the complaint at Dispur, but have not registered a case as yet...The police are looking into the matter before registering a case as the place of occurrence is outside the state.Mohneesh Mishra, Deputy Commissioner, Guwahati Police (East)
The West Bengal BJP unit also slammed Banerjee for her statement.
"The allegations made by the chief minister are completely baseless. Nothing of that sort is being done. Such allegations are made just to get political dividends out of it," its president Dilip Ghosh said.
Assam BJP unit urged the NRC authorities to file a complaint in the Supreme Court against Banerjee for her comments.
Govt Assures No One Is Going Is Going Out of Assam Under NRC
Following the ruckus caused by Mamata’s comments, Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the Parliament on Thursday said that no one was being driven out of the north-eastern state via the NRC drive. He urged the people to be patient as the complete procedure is still under works.
Rajnath’s reply to the opposition, mainly TMC and Congress, came after Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that the NRC was being used to drive Bengali’s out of Assam.
The NRC work being carried out in Assam is on the orders of the Supreme Court. Till now, only 1.4 crore [1.9 crore] people have been shown as registered. The process is still on. No one needs to be worried. Those whose names have been left out can approach a tribunal. It is a baseless allegation that some people are being driven out.Rajnath Singh, Home Minister, as quoted by the Indian Express.
(With inputs from PTI and the Indian Express)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)