The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday saw repeated disruptions over the Assam NRC issue and was adjourned for the day amid pandemonium. The opposition objected to BJP chief Amit Shah's remarks that the party was trying to protect Bangladeshi infiltrators.
The discussion on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, whose draft was released on Monday, July 30, was taken up, suspending the Question Hour at the request of opposition members. Leaders of all parties briefly expressed their views on the issue. Towards the end, just before Home Minister Rajnath Singh was to reply, Shah said, "The Assam Accord was signed by your Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on August 14, 1985. And he announced it from the Red Fort in his speech the next day. The spirit of the Accord was that the NRC would help identify the Bangladeshi infiltrators," Shah said.
"You did not have the courage to implement it. We had the courage and we are doing it. Everybody here (in the opposition) is concerned with the 40 lakh people. How many Bangladeshi infiltrators are there among these 40 lakh? Who do you want to protect? You want to protect the Bangladeshi infiltrators?" Shah asked.
The opposition MPs loudly objected to Shah's remarks and came towards the Chairman, shouting slogans against the government and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu first adjourned the House for 10 minutes. But as the House was reconvened at 1.10 p.m., the opposition MPs were on their feet again. Naidu then adjourned the House for the day.
The NRC draft would exclude close to 40 lakh individuals currently residing in Assam, despite the fact that many of them are Indians and have several identity proofs such as PAN card, drivers license and Aadhaar card. The Registrar General of India (RGI) refused to publicise the reasons for exclusion, but the government said that they have excluded close to 1.5 lakh people because either their names have been erroneously included, or they have submitted false claims or invalid panchayat certificates.
