Opposition delegation meets President seeking intervention in NRC issue

New Delhi: A delegation of opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and the Left, urged President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday to ensure that not a single Indian citizen was excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

A memorandum submitted by the delegation to Kovind accused the government of undermining the nation’s democratic and secular values and alleged that the draft NRC had resulted in the exclusion of 40 lakh Indians.

It also accused the government of spreading misleading statements against the Supreme Court over the NRC issue.

The memorandum claimed that the NRC had resulted in the exclusion of over 40 lakh Indian citizens, including Bengalis, Assamese, Rajasthanis, Marwaris, Biharis, Gorkhas, Punjabis, those from Uttar Pradesh and the southern states and tribals, who were residents of Assam for a very long period.

The aftermath of the NRC 2018 was an example of the ruling dispensation threatening and attempting to ruin the country’s great institutions like the Constitution, Parliament, the judiciary and the media, it alleged.

“As the custodian of these great institutions, we appeal and urge upon you to ensure that not a single Indian citizen is excluded from the NRC list in Assam,” it added.

The delegation included Anand Sharma of the Congress, Sudip Bandyopadhyay of the TMC, Mohammad Salim of the CPI(M), H D Deve Gowda of the JD(S), Y S Chowdhary of the TDP and Sanjay Singh of the AAP among others.