Giriraj Singh pitches for nationwide NRC

Union minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday pitched for a law to roll out the National Register of Citizens across the country following the violence in Delhi's Jahangipuri, alleging that "merchants of votes" want to vitiate social harmony. In a message, the senior BJP leader linked the incident in Jahangirpuri, where a demolition drive has triggered a massive political fight, to a number of incidents in the past, including protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, opposition to the construction of the Ram temple and the recent hijab row.

These are the same people who fire guns at cops and wield swords to target Ram Navami processions, he alleged, while also referring to the recent attack on security personnel at the Gorakhnath temple.

"Following the Jahangirpuri incident what is most important is that the NRC law should be enacted for the country. Every country across the world has its identity card for citizens, India should also have it," he said, adding there should be debate over it from streets to Parliament.


Currently, only Assam has a National Register of Citizens. However, the exercise was mired in controversy because of complaints that a large number of illegal migrants from Bangladesh had found their way to the register while genuine citizens were left out.

In an apparent swipe at opposition parties after they accused the BJP of spreading hate and division in the society, the hardline Hindutva leader said, these "merchants of votes" sometimes visit mosques and sometimes temples and "prefer" votes to the country.

Opposition leaders have said Muslims have been selectively targeted during demolition drives, even though authorities have contended that these actions are aimed at removing encroachments in accordance with the law.

While the CAA has not been implemented yet despite Parliament's nod, the Modi government had said amid protests against the law in 2019 that it had never discussed about having a nationwide NRC.