Congress leader Jairam Ramesh says BJP, RSS polarising NRC, CAB on communal lines
Shillong/UNI: The opposition Congress on Monday accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) of polarizing and dividing the country by implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and bringing the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) on communal lines.
“The Congress party is firmly, strongly and clearly opposing the anti-secular and anti-constitution CAB of the BJP as it violates Article 14 and Article 22 of the Indian Constitution,” Congress Rajya Sabha member, Jairam Ramesh told reporters here in Meghalaya.
However, he said that the Congress is not against the principles of the NRC to identify illegal migrants but against the way it has been executed and the problem inherent in the implementation.
Ramesh is in Shillong with his party members - Mukul Wasnik, Jitender Singh, Manikandan Tagore - to take stock of the sentiments of the people of the state over issues like CAB and NRC.
Stating that CAB and the NRC are the project of the BJP and the RSS to polarise and divide the country on communal lines, Ramesh said the whole of the northeastern region, including the state governments and other political parties and citizens are opposed to the CAB.
He also disclosed that the Congress is reaching out to other political parties for their support against the CAB.
“Politics is more than a number game politics is about standing up for principles and for values. We are reaching out to other political parties, some will support us and some will not and now it all depend on how active the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is and Income Tax is – these are instruments of governance for Modi and Amit Shah…we may not have the numbers in Lok Sabha or in Rajya Sabha but will continue to fight,” he said.
Stating that the implementation of NRC in Assam was a historical legacy, Ramesh said, “It was part of the 1951 census and the 1985 Assam Accord … but to repeat NRC in other states of the country it needs a lot of home work and a political climate too needs to be created.”
“There is a need to ensure that NRC does not become an instrument of harassment,” Ramesh added.
On the Meghalaya Residents Safety and Security Act (MRSSA), 2016, the Congress leader hit out at the state government saying that the Act was passed in 2016 and the present NPP-led coalition government all of a sudden realized to make amendments to it.
“The amendments needs public debate and consensus of all political parties,” Ramesh said.
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