Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday assured the people raising concerns on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) that no citizen of India will have to leave the country. “As per the due process, all possible opportunities will be given to get their concerns addressed,” Modi said in an interview to news agency ANI.
“Only those who have lost faith in themselves, fear loss of popular support and lack faith in our Institutions can use words like ‘civil war’, ‘blood bath’ and ‘Desh Ke Tukde Tukde.’ Evidently, they are disconnected from the pulse of the nation. As far as Mamata ji’s stand is concerned, she should remember what she said on the floor of the Parliament in 2005. Was that Mamata ji correct or is this Mamata ji correct?” asked PM Modi taking a dig at Mamata Banerjee for her remarks against the final draft of NRC.
Those who have lost faith in themselves,fear loss of popular support and lack faith in our institutions can use words like ‘civil war’,‘blood bath’ and ‘Desh Ke Tukde Tukde.’ Evidently, they are disconnected from the pulse of the nation: PM on Mamata Banerjee's statement on NRC
— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2018
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The Prime Minister also slammed the Congress party for its stand on the NRC. “The Congress is also playing politics over the NRC. The roots of the NRC go back three decades, when Mr. Rajiv Gandhi had to bow to public pressure and sign the Assam Accord. Since then Assam voted Congress several times but the party did nothing about it and kept misleading the people. Congress knew a problem exists but allowed it to fester for decades because they were guided by vote bank politics.”
“The NRC was a promise of ours, which we are fulfilling under the guidance of the Honourable Supreme Court… Our job in the political class is to work according to the will of the people and do what they have given us the mandate for,” the PM further added in the interview.
The final draft of the NRC was released on July 30 which excluded nearly 40 lakh people in Assam. Of the 3.29 crore people who had filled in applications in 2015, as many as 2.89 crore people found their names in the draft list. The draft was severely criticized by the opposition and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Countering the picture projected by Opposition of a gloomy economic situation and claims of rising unemployment, PM Narendra Modi said that more than one crore jobs have been created in the last one year, hence, the campaign of lack of jobs needs to stop now. In the interview to ANI, Prime Minister also touched upon various other important issues including the Goods and Services Tax (GST), women empowerment and India-Pakistan relations.
