GUWAHATI, Sept 13 - Accusing the ruling BJP governments at the Centre and the State of failure in bringing out an error-free NRC, former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said the Congress will stand beside Indian citizens whose names got excluded from the final document.
Speaking to the media here on the sidelines of the flagging off of the �bus yatra� organised by the APCC to �boost the morale of those Indian citizens who have been excluded from the final NRC�, Gogoi castigated Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal for their alleged silence on the final NRC issue.
Gogoi said lakhs of Indian citizens from all religious, linguistic and ethnic groups residing in Assam, have failed to find their names in the final NRC. �Such people are facing an uncertain future... Many are worried they may be packed off to detention camps... So, the Congress party has decided to stand by those people till they get justice,� he said.
�When they are not foreigners, then why should they have to approach the Foreigners� Tribunals (FTs)? ... Who gave the NRC authority the right to declare Indian citizens foreigners? Who is responsible for this? The BJP is responsible. Amit Shah is responsible. Why is he mum now?� Gogoi questioned. He also accused Sonowal of remaining silent on the final NRC.
�We wanted to expel foreigners. But now, the BJP has started a campaign to expel Indian citizens... Sonowal had once approached the Supreme Court to scrap the IM(DT) Act. Now, there is no IM(DT) Act. Then why is Sonowal not able to act against the foreigners? His government has no right to continue,� he added.
Meanwhile, the bus yatra was headed to Tinsukia today. The yatra was led by former state minister and deputy leader of the Congress Legislature Party Rakibul Hussain.
APCC president Ripun Bora and CLP leader Debabrata Saikia will join the yatra at Tinsukia. From there, the 57-member APCC team will visit Dhola, Jagun and Ledo before visiting other parts of the State. The one-and-a-half-month yatra will end on Oct 28.
