Opposition delegation seeks President Kovind's intervention in NRC issue

Ram Nath Kovind

A delegation of opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and the Left, urged President Ram Nath Kovind today 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.

Also Read - NRC: Assam BJP Seeks More Time For Filing Objections

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever