Assam NRC: Congress's Shashi Tharoor quoted Rabindranath Tagore to make his point on the citizens' list.
Highlights
- Shashi Tharoor quoted Tagore to make his point on the citizens' list
- Over 19 lakh left out of the final Assam National Register of Citizens
- NRC is intended to identify legal residents, weed out illegal immigrants
"There is a thin line between nationalism and xenophobia," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, quoting Rabindranath Tagore, ahead of the publication of the final National Register of Citizens or NRC that determines the citizenship of lakhs of people in Assam. Over 19 lakh people have been left out of the final list and 3.11 crore have been included. The crucial citizens' list - which was released this morning - is intended to identify legal residents and weed out illegal immigrants from the north-eastern state that borders Bangladesh.
Security has been tightened in Assam, with tens of thousands of paramilitary personnel and police posted across the north-eastern state bordering Bangladesh.
"There is a thin line between nationalism and xenophobia -besides, hatred of the foreigner could later turn into a hatred of Indians different from oneself." -- Rabindranath Tagore. The prescience of a great man!" Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
The Congress, the main opposition in Assam, has hit out at the BJP in the past, with former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accusing the party of turning the NRC into a "wastepaper" with which to appease its Hindu vote bank.
The centre has said people whose names don't appear in the final NRC cannot be declared foreigners till all legal options are exhausted. Every person left out of the NRC can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal, and the time limit to file the appeal has been extended from 60 to 120 days.
Civil society groups and the Congress had written to the Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi about the "panicky situation" created by "suspicious and mischievous" re-verification notices served by the NRC authorities.
Many BJP leaders have raised concerns over a large number of Bengali Hindus being left out of the NRC. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, after meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah last week, had said the centre may consider a law to remove foreigners who could have entered the list and add genuine citizens who could have been left out.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC), first published in Assam in 1951, is being updated as per directions of the Supreme Court to segregate Indian citizens living in Assam from those who have illegally entered the state from Bangladesh after March 25, 1971.