MLA Shiladitya Dev Dubs Assam NRC as a 'One Man Show'

Guwahati, August 19, 2019:

Assam's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Shiladitya Dev has once again made a series of sensational statements about the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), which is due for an August 31 publication.

Taking a dig at the former Congress administration, the Hajo MLA recently said that "The Government has not done anything. If Tarun Gogoi had not been sitting hand-in-arms for 30 years, the NRC proceedings would have begun sooner, and it would never have gone to the Supreme Court. The Assam Accord was signed in 1985, but the NRC process started in 2005 at the directives of the Supreme Court."

"It is rather unfortunate that the NRC has become a 'one man show' because of the Congress' apathy towards the NRC", he said, taking a dig at the NEC Co-ordinator Prateek Hajela. The MLA also said that he will take the initiative to ensure that Bangladeshis are booted out after the 'crisis period' during the months of September October.

The outspoken BJP leader also added that the purpose of the NRC is to free Assam from Bangladeshis, and further added that the 'D' (or doubtful) tag should be removed when it comes to voting. "If a person is tagged as a 'foreigner', he/she should be barred from casting their votes", he said.

"The Election Commission of India is not an authority to declare citizenship, and that should be decided by the tribunals", he said. "The Election Commission should stop harassing people in the name of 'D'", Shiladitya added.

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