With the debate over the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC) draft becoming a national issue and opposition making a ruckus out of it, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that ‘it is just a draft and not a final report’. The Minister also said that there will be no coercive action on anyone whose name is not on the list and assured that everyone will get ample of time to get listed.
Answering the queries of parliamentarians in Rajya Sabha on Friday, Singh said, “I am saying this again, that no coercive action will be taken against anyone in any situation. Attempts to create an atmosphere of fear are condemnable.” He expressed that the unjustified accusations are not called for and explained that the process is monitored and supervised by the honourable Supreme Court.
Stating that the whole process is fair, Singh said, “Whole procedure of NRC Assam was done under supervision of Supreme Court. I would like to repeat that its a draft and not a final list, everyone will get chance to appeal. Its a totally fair process. Unwarranted accusations are unfortunate.”
On being blamed for politicising the issue to reap benefits in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Rajnath attacked the opposition and retorted, “Procedure of NRC started in 1985 through the Assam accord when the Rajiv Gandhi ji was the PM. The decision to update was taken by Dr Manmohan Singh ji in 2005.”
As per the draft, 40.07 lakh people will have to prove the identity within a month or else action might be taken on them. However, Supreme Court had made this very clear that Assam Citizens’ list is just a draft and there will be no action on those who have been left out.