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BJP chief JP Nadda releases manifesto for Assam polls, promises to work on ‘corrected NRC’
Assam is set to go to the assembly election from March 27. The voting will be held in three phases and the counting of votes will be held on May 2.
Bharatiya Janata Party's national president JP Nadda on Tuesday released the manifesto for the upcoming assembly elections in Assam, promising to work on the corrected National Register of Citizens (NRC) for "Assam's protection." The BJP also promised to speed up the delimitation process to "protect Assam's political rights." "We will protect genuine Indian citizens and detect infiltrators to ensure the Ahom civilisation stays safe," Nadda said in a press interaction after the release.
"We have gained momentum of development. We are standing for a big leap. With these aspirations, we have put our words in 10 commitments to the people of Assam," Nadda said during the press interaction.
On Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Nadda said it has been passed by the Parliament and will be implemented in "letter and spirit."
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The party also promised to build big around the Brahmaputra River "to conserve extra water under Brahmaputra vision to save the people from floods." It also promised financial support of ₹3,000 per month to 30 lakh deserving families under the Orunodoi Scheme.
Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state minister Himanta Biswa Sarma were also present at the event in Guwahati.
Over the years, Assam has faced massive protests across the state against the influx of illegal immigrants from neighbouring countries over the fears that they could hurt the indigenous communities living in the state. NRC which essentially means National Register of Citizens is a list of Assam's residents. It has been prepared by the central government to identify legal residents of the state and deport illegal migrants and keep the ethnic identity of the region unaltered.
The issue came to boiling point in 2019 after the Centre passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA which grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis, Buddhists and Christians fleeing religious persecution from neighbouring Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. It sparked massive protests across the country with Assam becoming the epicentre of the agitation.
With Assam elections at the corner, the CAA-NRC issue is again at the centre stage in Assam. Congress the main contender in Assam polls, promised to nullify CAA by bringing a law in the state in its manifesto.
Assam is set to go to the assembly election from March 27. The voting will be held in three phases and the counting of votes will be held on May 2.
