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NRC in Assam India’s internal matter: Jaishankar

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Dhaka: The process of documenting and identifying illegal immigrants in Assam is India’s “internal matter”, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said here on Tuesday, days after New Delhi voiced its concerns over the illegal immigration from Bangladesh to the Northeast.

Jaishankar’s remarks came after he held talks with his Bangladeshi counterpart A K Abdul Momen here on issues like the long-pending pact on the Teesta water sharing and the Rohingya crisis.

Jaishankar is in Dhaka on a two-day visit, his first to Bangladesh after taking over the charge of External Affairs Minister.

Jaishankar said that he had a fruitful interaction with his Bangladeshi counterpart.

Jaishankar in a joint press conference with Momen said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is India’s “internal matter” amid concerns in Bangladesh, Bdnews reported.

Home Minister Amit Shah early this month raised with Bangladesh India’s concerns over the illegal immigration from Bangladesh to the Northeast. The issue was flagged before Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan at the 7th meeting of India-Bangladesh Home Minister Level Talks (HMLT) held in New Delhi.

Jaishankar’s remarks came ahead of the publication of the final list of the NRC in Assam on August 31.

When the draft NRC was published last year, 40 lakh names were excluded, leading to a huge political controversy.

Assam and other Northeastern states have been facing the problem of influx from neighbouring Bangladesh through the porus border.

Jaishankar also said India’s position and commitment to the pending Teesta water deal remained as it was, Bdnews quoted Jaishankar as saying. (PTI)

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