West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that six persons have “died”( five committed suicide and one died while standing in a queue at a BDO office to make corrections in his ration card) in the state in fear of NRC. Accusing BJP of creating panic over the issue the Chief Minister said that the ruling party at the Centre was trying to gain political mileage from it.
“I am sorry to say that six persons have died in West Bengal in fear of NRC...BJP leaders should be ashamed of spreading panic like this which has led to six deaths,” said Banerjee. She was speaking at a meeting of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) affiliated trade union Indian National Trinamool Trade Union Congress (INTTUC).
Banerjee made it clear that NRC will not be allowed to be held in Bengal.
“NRC will neither be held in Bengal nor anywhere else. NRC was held in Assam because of the Assam Accord. Some are making misleading comments about it (NRC). They are resorting to create division among Hindus and Muslims. Moreover, 13 lakh Hindus have been left out of (NRC) in Assam as well Muslims, Assamese and Hindi speaking people,” said Banerjee.
Urging people not to panic over the NRC issue the Chief Minister said that without the state government’s cooperation NRC cannot be conducted and her government will never allow it.
“They will not be able to conduct NRC in Bengal. Without state government machinery NRC cannot be conducted and we will never allow it here,” said Banerjee.
She also said that when the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has already asserted that NRC will not be held in Bihar then why should it be held in Bengal.
“Who told you that you have to find out documents dating back to 1971? If I am asked to produce my mother’s birth certificate how will I produce it? The Chief Minister of Bihar has said that NRC will not take place there. Then why should it be held in Bengal?” said Banerjee.
She accused the Centre of trying to disinvest several public sector units including Coal India and the Railways.
As for the recent chaos at Kolkata’s Jadavpur University where Union Minister Babul Supriyo was allegedly heckled by a section of students and the vandalism in the campus by ABVP supporters she said that BJP and ABVP were trying to bulldoze everything.
