Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday maintained that the draft National Register of Citizen (NRC) in Assam was a fair and objective exercise and warned the Opposition against allegedly making attempts to create an atmosphere of “fear and communal disharmony on social media” around it. Speaking in Rajya Sabha, Singh also accused a team of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs, which had gone to Assam on Thursday, of creating an “unruly situation” at Silchar airport in the state, and said that they were detained in view of intelligence inputs received by Assam government on the law and order situation in the state. Six TMC lawmakers were detained at Silchar airport on Thursday while attempting to visit Assam after the publication of the draft NRC. Assam has a BJP-led government. More than 40 lakh people have been left out of the draft, and the TMC, along with several opposition parties, have stridently protested against this. They have accused the government of using the NRC exercise to target certain communities for political gains. On the NRC final draft, the Home Minister said every country wants to identify its genuine citizens, and sought cooperation of all parties in a matter of national security. He said: “It is unfortunate that an atmosphere of fear has been created. Some confusion has been created through some people. Propaganda has been carried out through vested interest on social media to internationalise the issue and disturb communal harmony.” He accused “certain people” of trying to create communal disharmony, and said “this should not be done”. He said, “There has not been any discrimination. I want to assure (the House) that there will not be any discrimination in future as well. It is not fair if someone makes such allegations.” The minister reiterated that this is a draft NRC, and not the “final” one, and that all those left out will get an opportunity to provide the required documentary proof. “There will not be any coercive action (against those not on the list),” he said. Singh also sought to remind protesting Opposition members that the entire procedure was undertaken under the Supreme Court’s supervision. “Everyone will get a chance to appeal. It’s a totally fair process, and unwarranted accusations are unfortunate,” he said. “The procedure of NRC was started in 1985 through the Assam accord, when late Rajiv Gandhi-ji was the Prime Minister. The decision to update it was taken by Dr Manmohan Singh-ji in 2005.” Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu sought to know whether former PM and member of the House Manmohan Singh would like to comment, as Rajnath Singh had taken his name. The former PM did not speak. Congress’s Ripun Bora demanded that guidelines related to the NRC draft should be modified further, as a large number of women and children were facing difficulties in proving their lineage. He said the West Bengal government had verified only a small fraction of the total 1.2 lakh applications in relation to the NRC. RJD member Manoj Jha said those who were not in the draft list should not be termed “infiltrators”. TMC leader Derek O’Brien said the matter is not limited to Assam but is a national issue. Taking a potshot at the BJP, he said the party’s president, Amit Shah, was speaking a different language on the issue than the Home Minister. Earlier, Naidu said that a privilege notice has been received from an MP from West Bengal and it was being examined. The notice related to the arrest of TMC MPs in Assam.
