Prime Minister Narendra Modi today expressed regret over many in Assam facing hardships while the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was being compiled to identify illegal immigrants, but assured them that no genuine Indian would be left out of the document.
"I am aware that many of you had to face hassles because of the complicated process of compiling the NRC. The exercise had been stuck for a decade, and it's moving forward today only because of your strength. I want to congratulate Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and his team for making this happen despite all the challenges," he said at an election rally in Silchar region ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
Although Silchar has traditionally been a BJP stronghold, there is considerable resentmentin the region over a number of Bengali Hindus who voted for the party in the 2016 assembly elections being left out of the NRC process. Another area of contention is the BJP's failure to implement an election promise regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, aimed at changing the definition of illegal migrants from certain communities, in the face of opposition from regional parties. The legislation has been termed "anti-Assam" even by the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), the BJP's ally in the state.
PM Modi, in his address, assured the people that the BJP government is doing everything in its capacity to take the legislation forward. "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is linked with emotions and related to people's lives. It is not for the benefit of anyone but a penance against the injustice and many wrongs done in the past. I hope the bill is passed soon in parliament," he said.