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The battle between the BJP and the TMC has now got ugly. In the latest confrontation between the two parties, West Bengal Chief Minister (CM) Mamata Banerjee slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre for excluding the names of 40 lakh people from Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) final draft. Banerjee told ANI that the BJP is playing vote bank politics in Assam.
Mamata Banerjee has been very vocal about the NRC list and has met several opposition leaders to corner BJP on the issue. She met NCP stalwart Sharad Pawar, Chairperson of the UPA Sonia Gandhi, BJP Patriarch L K Advani among others in the capital
“BJP is doing vote bank politics in Assam. They have omitted the names of as many as 40 lakh people which is 25 per cent of voters residing in state. This is very unfortunate and as human beings we cannot do such things,” she said.
While asserting that the NRC draft has become a global issue, Banerjee added that the BJP has created hurdles for the people of Assam and its neighbouring states.
“Those people who have been left out from the list will now be barred from obtaining ration cards. Not only that, scores of farmers and the rickshaw-pullers residing in the state will also be precluded for carrying out their respective jobs. This will have an impact not only in Assam but also its neighbouring states such as West Bengal and Bihar. This is a global issue now,” said CM Banerjee.
Banerjee further called on all the opposition parties to unite and discuss the issue with the government. “For the advancement of the nation and to avoid any sought of bloodbath in the future, Centre must make decisions in order to benefit the people residing in India,” said Banerjee.
