(FE)
With his party and its government in Assam opposed to the National Register of Citizens, especially over the exclusion of many Hindus from the final list, Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday told Rajya Sabha that whenever the NRC exercise is extended to the whole country, it will have to be repeated in Assam.
Replying to a question by nominated MP Swapan Dasgupta during the Question Hour, Shah also reiterated the government’s commitment to the Citizenship Amendment Bill, saying it is of the firm belief that Hindu, Buddhist, Parsi, Sikh and Christian refugees from neighbouring countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan deserve to get Indian citizenship. “That is why CAB was brought to ensure such religious refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, who have been persecuted for their religion, can become citizens,” he said.
On the NRC in Assam, Shah said: “The NRC exercise in Assam was undertaken as per an order of the Supreme Court and as per a separate Act. When the NRC exercise is replicated across the country, it will naturally have to be repeated in Assam. I want to make it clear again that people of any religion should not feel scared. Everybody will be included in NRC. As for the gazette notification that the member referred to, it is applicable across the country.”
