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Gogoi demands NRC for entire country

By SPL CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI, Aug 26 - Continuing his attack on the BJP for its handling of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update exercise, former Assam Chief Minister and CWC member Tarun Gogoi on Sunday demanded that a similar exercise should be carried out across the country.

Gogoi was participating in an interaction on the NRC at the Press Club of India, which was organised by the AICC Research Department here this afternoon. The discussion was moderated by chairman of the AICC Research Department, Professor Rajeev Gowda, MP, Rajya Sabha.

Gogoi said that the NRC was meant to identify �foreigners� and was to be implemented across the country, and not just Assam. �But I can tell you that the BJP government cannot implement it across the country,� he said. The former Chief Minister demanded that the exercise be carried out across the country.

�The very purpose of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) has failed because of its �improper implementation� and politicisation by the BJP-led government,� Gogoi alleged.

Accusing the BJP of creating confusion intentionally, Gogoi said that the current dispensation did not have a clear vision on the NRC. Around 40 lakh people in Assam have been excluded from the final draft of the NRC, which was published on July 30, raising concern over the future of these people.

Assam, which had witnessed influx of people from Bangladesh since the early 20th century, is the only State having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951, Gogoi said.

�We even started pilot projects on NRC in 2010, but after facing huge resentment and opposition, we stopped and discussed modalities for the way forward,� Gogoi recalled.

Earlier this month, Gogoi had alleged that the NRC was full of mistakes while holding the BJP government responsible for it.

�We�re committed to the Assam Accord. Those residing in Assam after March 24, 1971 will be considered foreigners and there is no scope for their names to be included in the NRC. But, most of the 40 lakh people, whose names have been dropped from the draft list, are Indian citizens,� Gogoi had alleged.

�BJP is creating this problem. NRC draft is full of faults. On one side, they are speaking of the Assam Accord, however, on the other side they are speaking of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill and want to grant citizenship to immigrants. This is a contradiction,� he added.

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