No Indian was excluded from Assam NRC draft, those left out are infiltrators: Shah

BJP Amit Shah . (PTI Photo/ File)

NEW DELHI: BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday said the sole objective of the National Register of Citizen (NRC) was to identify those who have infiltrated into the Indian side by crossing the border illegally. Addressing a press conference here, the BJP leader said the NRC draft is related to the national security, which is his party's top priority, while the Opposition has started politicizing it for "vote-bank". "Congress and some other parties are trying to mislead by saying genuine Indian nationals in Assam will face an identity crisis. I want all these parties to clarify their stand on Bangladeshi intruders. We cannot risk our borders," Shah said. "NRC was at the heart of the Assam Accord. No Indian citizen should be worried about the NRC. For us, NRC is key to security of the country," he added. The "complete draft" of the NRC was published on Monday featuring 2.9 crore names out of the total 3.29 crore applicants in Assam. The names of 40.07 lakh applicants, however, did not find a place in the historic document. Shah, however, said it was not the final draft and those who have been left out can approach the authorities and file their objection. "There have been discussions in the media that 40 Lakh Indians were declared illegal citizens. However, in the preliminary inquiry, it was found that those who were excluded from the NRC list were not Indian citizens. Those who were left out were infiltrators but it's still an initial phase and not the final list. The window of objections and claims is open for all," he said. He also underlined that BJP's stand on this issue has always been consistent, while adding that the Congress did not have the courage to implement it and now the Modi government is doing what the Congress could not. "No country can function if it keeps on allowing the infiltrators to live in their country. The BJP will implement the NRC Assam under the supervision of Supreme Court," he said. Earlier in the day, Shah, while participating in a discussion on the Assam NRC draft issue in the Rajya Sabha, said the exercise was conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court. The Upper House had taken up the discussion doing away with the Question Hour, but the debate was disrupted due to vociferous protests by the opposition parties.