Centre to deport all illegal immigrants: Amit Shah

Amplifying the BJP's election promise of conducting a nationwide exercise of National Register of Citizens (NRC) like the one in Assam, Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said the government will identify "all infiltrators" living on "every inch" of this country and deport them.

Shah's comments came during the Question Hour of Rajya Sabha when Samajwadi Party MP Javed Ali Khan asked whether the government plans to extend the controversial exercise of NRC in Assam across the country.

At present, the NRC is being updated in Assam under the instructions of Supreme Court and July 31 has been set as a deadline for its final publication. The exercise had attracted criticism in Assam.

"It is a very good question. The NRC is part of the Assam Accord and was also in (BJP's) election manifesto based on which the government has came to power. We will identify infliltrators living on every inch of the country's soil. We will deport them as per the international law," Shah said in response to Khan's question.

Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the Centre has received many representations for extending the NRC deadline in Assam. He referred to a petition signed by about 25 lakh applicants submitted to the Centre and the President demanding extension to correct anomalies.

As many genuine names have been left out and many bogus names are registered, the government has requested the Supreme Court to extend the time for this purpose, Rai said.

"There will be some delay but the NRC will be implemented properly without any faults," he said while emphasising that the government wants to ensure that no genuine citizen is left out of the NRC.

In its manifesto, the BJP has said, "there has been a huge change in the cultural and linguistic identity of some areas due to illegal immigration, resulting in an adverse impact on local people's livelihood and employment. We will expeditiously complete the National Register of Citizens process in these areas on priority. In future we will implement the NRC in a phased manner in other parts of the country."