After 'bloodbath', 'civil war' jibes, Mamata Banerjee to speak in Parliament over Assam NRC issue today

A day after Mamata Banerjee expressed shock at the fact that even former president of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed’s family members’ names did not find mention on the NRC list released in Assam, the West Bengal chief minister is all set to address Parliament on Wednesday. Monsoon Session of Parliament is underway, and both Houses on Tuesday witnessed a tumultuous session with multiple adjournments over the NRC issue. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, in Parliament, appealed to the opposition not to politicise the “sensitive” matter as the list has been published on the directives of the Supreme Court and the Centre has “no role” in it. He asserted that no “coercive” action will be taken against those whose names were excluded from the NRC draft list. Mamata alleged that the NRC exercise in Assam was done with a “political motive” to divide people and warned that it would lead to bloodbath and a civil war in the country. Attacking the BJP, she said the saffron party is trying to divide the country and asserted this will not be tolerated. [caption id=“attachment_4406609” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI.[/caption] “The NRC is being done with a political motive. We will not let this happen. They (BJP) are trying to divide the people. The situation cannot be tolerated. There will be a civil war, blood bath in the country,” Mamata said. She said that even the names of family members of former president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed have not been included in the NRC. The Trinamool Congress also dared the BJP to try implementing NRC in West Bengal and said it can never come to power in the state. “The BJP has the audacity to say that they would implement NRC in Bengal and thinks only they and their supporters would stay in India and rest will have to leave the country,” she said. Asserting that the present situation cannot go on, Banerjee said she would continue voicing her opposition against the ruling party. She appealed to the all communities to build up a momentum against the decision of the government. “No one can give us direction. This is not the politics of India. Indian politics is about tolerance,” she said. The massive Supreme Court-monitored exercise to identify genuine Indian nationals living in Assam excluded over 40 lakh people from the final draft list. Reports claimed that a police complaint has been registered against Mamata by the BJP’s youth wing in Assam’s Dibrugarh district. The FIR accuses Mamata of inciting ‘hate and tension’ among the co-existing communities with the intention of derailing the citizen’s charter process. The case was filed by three workers of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha or BJYM. Mamata met Rajnath The West Bengal chief minister met with Rajnath at his residence and claimed she had submitted a list of 40 lakh people who had been left out of NRC in the final draft released on Monday. Mamata asked Rajnath to clarify whether the Centre intends to carry out an exercise similar to NRC-Assam in her state. “I came here to talk on NRC. Submitted a list of 40 lakh people who had been left out. I have told him that his leadership is claiming that next NRC would be in Bengal. Who has given them that authority?,” Banerjee told reporters after meeting Singh. Terming the decision of bringing in NRC as “disaster”, the TMC chief has also urged the Union Home Minister to bring in amendments to end the problems being faced by the people in Assam. Later, the Home Minister issued a statement stating that the draft NRC had been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord and under the monitoring of the Supreme Court. “I told her that the draft NRC had been published in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord and as per decisions taken in a tripartite meeting on February 05, 2005 between the Centre, State Government of Assam and All Assam Students Union to update NRC, 1951,” Singh said in the statement. BJP retorts Addressing a press conference, BJP chief Amit Shah also condemned Banerjee for her warning that there could be civil war and bloodbath, saying the country was divided once in the name of civil war. “She should clarify what kind of civil war she is talking about,” he said. Asked about a demand of West Bengal BJP leaders for an NRC in the state, Shah said the NRC, which aims to identify illegal immigrants, is presently confined to Assam and the party will take a stand on such issues at an appropriate time.