Assam-like exercise: State BJP for National Register of Citizens in West Bengal

Even as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has criticised National Register of Citizens (NRC) and vowed to accommodate “every” Bengali evicted from Assam, the state unit of BJP has demanded a similar NRC for West Bengal, claiming that there are many illegal Bangladeshis who get political shelter in the state, and that the demographic situation in Bengal is no better than Assam.

“West Bengal got featured in the court guidelines and we can see that Bengal is going through similar demographic changes like Assam. So, we have planned to send a proposal to the Government of India, requesting it to initiate the NRC process in Bengal also,” said state BJP president Dilip Ghosh.

Banerjee recently called the NRC process “an arrangement to displace Bengali population” from Assam, triggering a huge protest there, resulting in an FIR being filed against her.