NRC not possible in Bengal, says Union minister; praises Mamata Banerjee for lowest atrocities on Dalits

Senior BJP leaders including president Amit Shah, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh have all spoken in favour of NRC in Bengal.

A citizenship screening exercise like the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not possible in West Bengal, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said in Kolkata on Thursday even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other saffron outfits kept up their demand for a similar measure in the state after Assam.

Union minister Ramdas Athawale during press conference at Bandra in Mumbai.(Pratham Gokhale/HT PHOTO)

“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has already made her stand clear on this issue. My party and I feel those, who have come to this country even after 1971 and don’t have any criminal record, should be granted citizenship,” said Athawale, the minister of state for social justice and empowerment and the president of the Republican Party of India (A), a constituent of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Senior BJP leaders including president Amit Shah, national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and Bengal unit chief Dilip Ghosh have all spoken in favour of NRC in Bengal.

BJP Bengal general secretary Sayantan Basu refused to comment on the Union minister’s opinion.

Earlier in the day, Athawale was present at a meeting with representatives of the Matua community, classified as a scheduled caste, who are irate with BJP for the NRC exercise in Assam.

Jyotipriyo Mullick, the state food and supplies minister who is also the pointsman in Trinamool Congress for the Matua community, said, “The Union minister’s comments prove the validity of the position of our chief minister on the NRC issue.”

He also alleged that Athawale’s position also indicated possible fissures within the NDA.

Athawale admitted that during the interaction with Matuas, he came across demands for citizenship from members of the community though they are residing in India for the past 30-40 years.

“I assured that I will take up the matter at the highest level and try to ensure all such people should be granted citizenship,” he said.

Ever since the NRC was announced on July 30, Banerjee has been critical of the issue and even went to the extent of alleging that the measure could even precipitate a civil war and bloodbath in the country. She also dared the BJP to try a similar screening exercise in her state.

Athawale even praised Banerjee for Bengal accounting for the least attacks on Dalits.

He admitted that atrocities on Dalits are high in BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, as well as in Bihar, where Janata Dal (United) is running a government in alliance with BJP.