The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president has claimed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Congress party are mourning the Army’s action against terrorist hotbeds.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah said his party will ensure that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is implemented across the entire country — if it forms the next government.
Addressing a rally in Darjeeling district in West Bengal, Shah said Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was spreading lies about the NRC on Thursday.
“We have promised in our manifesto that once Narendra Modi forms government once again, we will implement the National Register of Citizens in the entire country.
“We will remove every single infiltrator from the country. And all the Hindu and Buddhist refugees...we will find each of them, give them Indian citizenship, and make them residents here,” Shah said.
The National Register of Citizens in Assam, is a document meant to contain names of all “genuine citizens” of the state of Assam.
It has been an extremely controversial matter, with many saying they have been unfairly left off the citizenship lists, while the BJP has touted the move as strong action against “infiltrators.”
The BJP’s manifesto proposes to “implement the NRC in a phased manner in other parts of the country.”
Amit Shah took on Banerjee, claiming that she and the Congress party were mourning the action taken on terrorist hotbeds by the Indian armed forces.
“It is due to their vote bank politics that they did not support Modi government’s action against Pakistan,” he said.
He said the BJP in its poll manifesto had promised to grant tribal status to the Gorkha communities. “The bravery of the Gorkhas, the tea from Darjeeling, their culture, and the natural beauty here attracts tourists from all over the world. But Mamata Banerjee has destroyed the valleys,” he added.
In its manifesto, the BJP has said, “We are committed to working towards finding a permanent political solution to the issue of the: Darjeeling Hills, Siliguri, Terai and Dooars regions.”
Shah also reiterated his party’s promise to remove Article 370 from the Constitution after BJP forms government at the Centre. The Article 370 grants special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
The Darjeeling Lok Sabha constituency goes to polls on April 18.
The BJP has fielded Raju Singh Bisht from the seat.
Reprinted by special arrangement with Scroll.in.
