Addressing a press conference, BJP Assam president Ranjeet Kumar Dass said that the government will bring in a legislation to safeguard the Indian citizens if the Foreigners Tribunals deliver adverse judgements against the appeals.
Under its new chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has gravitated towards greater transparency and ease of doing business, setting an objective of "effective and optimum" regulation. On Monday, during its first board meeting under Pandey, the regulator has decided to constitute a high-level committee (HLC) to review conflicts of interest and unveiled initiatives to simplify regulatory processes.
Opponents of the CAA and NRC have gone to town accusing the BJP of an ulterior motive (read, disenfranchisement of Muslims) in implementing the NRC. By the same token it can be alleged that anti-CAA opponents have a nefarious agenda in mind that would be scuttled by the implementation of the NRC: Namely the accrual of dedicated vote banks and the restoration of Muslim hegemony over at least parts of India, especially Bengal and Assam, argues Vivek Gumaste.
'It seems we will get an NRC which will include the names of illegal foreigners and exclude genuine Indian citizens'
The Meitei group Arambai Tenggol surrendered 246 firearms to security forces in Manipur, bringing the total number of weapons surrendered to 307. The surrender follows a deadline set by Governor Ajay Bhalla for the return of illegal weapons. Arambai Tenggol's decision was influenced by assurances from the governor, including the eradication of opium poppy cultivation, implementation of border fencing, and a general amnesty for members of the group. Officials believe the surrender will contribute to restoring peace in the state, which has been rocked by ethnic violence for nearly two years. The police have urged others in possession of illegal firearms to surrender them before the deadline. Former Chief Minister N Biren Singh welcomed the surrender, calling it a "big step towards peace."
Banerjee said that comments made by her and Modi on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the NRC are in public domain, and people will decide who is right or wrong.
The Consulate General of India in Seattle was forced to deal with a law and order situation after certain individuals entered the premises unauthorized and engaged in aggressive and threatening behavior with the Consulate staff over alleged denial of visa to one of them. Former Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant was among those who entered the Consulate and refused to leave, alleging she was denied a visa because her name was on a "reject list." Sawant claims the denial is retaliation for her office passing a resolution condemning the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and for her efforts to ban caste discrimination in Seattle.
The list showed the total number of applicants was 3,29,91,385 out of which 40,07,717 names, which is 12.15 per cent, were not included.
This was the third such incident since the publication of the complete draft of the NRC on July 30.
The chief minister asserted that his government was against the NRC.
The JD-U leader said that the change in stance was prompted by country-wide agitations. He also said that the govt would with for a favourable SC verdict on CAA.
Seeking to allay citizenship concerns of a large number of people, government sources said on Thursday that one can prove Indian nationality by submitting any document related to his date of birth and its place, and there will be "absolutely no compulsion" to submit any document by his parents during any such exercise. An explainer shared by official sources said no document will be required for anybody's pre-1971 genealogy as such a condition was specific to the NRC exercise in Assam and asserted that it will be sufficient to provide one's details of birth like date and place in any future nationwide NRC.
Besides this, constitution of a Law Commission is also being considered in the state and an independent department would be set up to solicit the services of intellectuals, he said.
The resolution 'earnestly' appealed to the Centre to withdraw and not carry out the whole exercise of NRC and NPR 'in the interest of the nation, particularly when the economy is witnessing the worst-ever downslide and unemployment is witnessing a terrifying growth, and with the threat of the corona pandemic looming large'.
'Mamata needs to address the anger and resentment among various sections of the Hindu community because low-scale communal violence has always paid richer electoral dividends for the BJP.'
Tiwari said that the situation of illegal migrants has crossed the danger mark and there is a need to look into the situation. "National Register of Citizens is needed in Delhi as the situation is becoming dangerous. Illegal immigrants who have settled here are the most dangerous, we will implement NRC here as well," he said.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said, "Till now, the government has not taken any decision to prepare National Register of Indian Citizens at the national level."
Some party leaders have conceded that the extent of protests against the CAA has taken them by surprise and pointed out that apprehensions in a section of society, especially among Muslims, over NRC have played a key role in whipping up emotions.
"I have not come to discuss about the NRC in West Bengal, I have come to discuss about the NRC in Assam," Banerjee said after the meeting.
'If you are opposed to the nationwide NRC, you should oppose the NPR.'
This will "stop the influx of illegal foreigners" and the state government will be 'very strict" in issuing Aadhaar cards, he said.
Two people, one legally assisting the affected people because of their exclusion from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and another whose relative has been declared a 'foreigner' by the quasi-judicial Foreigners' Tribunal (FT), talk to Rediff.com about the issues on the ground that people excluded from the NRC are facing and how it can turn into a long-drawn legal process.
The Centre and the Assam government stands were advanced by Attorney General K K Venugopal and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, respectively.
Rival political parties crossed swords even as the BJP sought to delink the updation of the NPR and the proposed NRC and no end in sight for the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Bhagwat further emphasised that no Muslim will face any loss due to the citizenship law.
Urging the people to make sure that their names are in the voters' list, Banerjee accused "local leaders" of the BJP of spreading canards about the possibility of implementing the NRC in the state.
Poll strategist Prashant Kishor on Tuesday asked Rahul Gandhi to impress upon the Congress to "officially" announce that the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens will not be implemented in the states ruled by the party. Kishor, the vice president of Janata Dal-United, also thanked the former Congress president for joining the "citizens' movement" against CAA and NRC, a reference to Congress's sit-in protest at Raj Ghat on Monday.
The final list of the NRC will be published on August 31.
The data was not available for a couple of days and it created panic in the public, mostly among the people excluded from the list as the rejection certificates were yet to be issued.
He also said that people of the country have given its stamp of approval for the nationwide-implementation of the National Register of Citizens through the verdict of the 2019 elections.
The government will provide legal support to the excluded people, said Assam Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.
"India cannot be the refugee capital of the world," the Solicitor General said, adding there was a need to re-look the draft NRC list through sample verification.
"The process of NRC will be carried out across the country. No one irrespective of their religion should be worried. It is just a process to get everyone under the NRC," the Union home minister said replying to a supplementary during Question Hour in the Upper House.
Kishor posted a tweet 'thanking' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi for their 'formal and unequivocal' rejection of the NRC. He also reassured the people of Bihar that the CAA and NRC will not be implemented in the state. However, JD-U's ally BJP got rankled by Kishor's move and made contrary claims.
Bangladesh Foreign Minister A K Abdul Momen said any 'uncertainty' over the issue in India is likely to affect its neighbours. The minister asserted that his country trusts India.
A bench directed that only hard copies of supplementary list of inclusions would be published at the NRC seva centers, circle offices and offices of the district magistrates of the state.
In an interview to Gulf News, referring to India's new citizenship law, Hasina said, "We don't understand why (the Indian government) did it. It was not necessary."
Criticising the saffron party for "undermining democratic values" in the country, the chief minister said, "Democracy exists in Bengal but it is under threat in several other parts of the country."
The CJI, who hails from Assam, said that NRC is neither a 'new or a novel idea' as it found expression as early as in 1951 and the current exercise is an attempt to update the 1951 NRC.
