'If voted to power, BJP will publish NRC in Bengal'

West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Monday said the National Register of Citizens will be published in Bengal on the lines of the one in Assam if his party is voted to power in the state.

Supporting the publication of the NRC complete draft in Assam, he said some politicians are "shedding crocodile tears" as they are wary that their "vote bank" politics will come to an end.

The much-awaited National Register of Citizens (NRC) final draft was published on Monday in Assam, the only state in the country to have it, featuring over 2.89 crore names out of the total 3.29 crore applicants in the northeastern state.

"If we (BJP) are voted to power in Bengal then we too will implement NRC in Bengal. We will send back illegal citizens to Bangladesh. Tough days are ahead, we will not tolerate any illegal immigrants in Bengal," Ghosh told reporters.

Those who will support illegal immigrants will also be thrown out of the country, he said.

"The NRC in Assam is being implemented following the orders of the court (Supreme Court). It was Congress which had proposed the idea of NRC. Now they are speaking against it," Ghosh said.

Those whose names are not in the final draft can appeal for rectification, "but we will never compromise with the security and integrity of our country", he said.

Ghosh came down heavily on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her comments against the NRC in Assam and said she should stop doing vote bank politics on each and every issue.

"Those who are inviting illegal immigrants from the neighbouring country should not talk much about integrity and security of the country," he said.

Mamata expressing concern over the exclusion of 40 lakh names in the complete NRC draft, said Indian citizens have become refugees in their own land and claimed that the Centre has resorted to "vote-bank politics".

The chief minister, who left for Delhi on Monday, said she would seek time from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to discuss the issue.

"I am sending a team of party MPs to Assam and if necessary, I will go there too," she added.