Mamata-Shah spat over NRC

Days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in Darjeeling, the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) became a bone of contention between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BJP president Amit Shah.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo said that she will never allow NRC in Bengal at a party rally in Darjeeling on Thursday. Shah responded at a rally in Kalimpong, reiterating that after coming back to power, BJP will conduct NRC across the country.

“ They (BJP) are saying that they will conduct NRC in Bengal. I dare them to even touch anyone from Bengal. They want to drive out whomever they want to from the country. They struck off the names of 43 lakh Bengalis in Assam. I will never allow this in Bengal,” said Banerjee.

She also asked how can a party like the BJP, which will not even be able to win a single seat in Bengal, can make such claims.

“They should worry about Delhi first and then think about Bengal,” said Banerjee.

The Chief Minister alleged that in the last Lok Sabha elections, BJP sought votes in Darjeeling with the promise of Gorkhaland but didn’t do anything about it. “He (S S Ahluwalia) said vote for me and I will give you Gorkhaland. Now he has runway. He has never been to Darjeeling in the last five years,” said Banerjee.

The BJP president targeted Banerjee over her opposition to NRC and accused her misleading people over the issue.

“We have brought NRC to drive out infiltrators. But Mamata didi is opposing it. Why are you so worried about infiltrators, didi?” asked Shah.

He also said that BJP has promised to conduct NRC across the country in its manifesto and will definitely do so after coming back to power.

Accusing the Chief Minister of resorting to “minority appeasement” and asked her to clarify whether she wants a separate Prime Minister in Jammu and Kashmir like National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.

Questioning Banerjee’s opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Shah asked whether she wants refugees from other countries, which also include Gorkhas, to get Indian Citizenship.