SILCHAR, Dec 24 - Ahead of the announcement of the first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Sushmita Dev, Congress MP from Silchar, has said unless Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes provisions for �deemed citizenship� to the displaced Bengali Hindus, the proposed Citizenship Bill will carry no meaning.
Talking to The Assam Tribune on Sunday, Dev said, �If the Prime Minister is seriously concerned with the fate of the displaced Bengali Hindus coming to Assam, there should be deemed citizenship as per the Assam Accord. Without the status of deemed citizenship, the Bill will be useless for the aspiring population and only help them find place in refugee camps from the detention camps.�
Further taking a potshot at the former Silchar MP and veteran BJP leader Kabindra Purakayastha who is currently in New Delhi as part of the 15-member BJP delegation to meet senior ministers and leaders demanding an ordinance on the issue, Sushmita said, �Being a former MP, he should know that ordinance is never passed during Parliament sessions.�
