Now, Karnataka mulls Assam-like NRC, to discuss matter with Centre

Bengaluru, Oct 03: The debate on having a National Register of Citizens (NRC) has refused to die dowm. After Assam, Delhi and West Bengal, the BJP government in Karnataka has started collecting information to identify illegal migrants in the state.

"Karnataka is one of the states where there people from across the border have come and settled. We are collecting information and will discuss it with the Union Home Ministry and go forward," Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai told reporters.

"In Bengaluru and other big cities, foreigners have come, they indulge in crime, and some of them have been arrested as well. We will take a decision (on NRC) this week," he added.

His statements comes days after Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government is planning to implement an NRC in West Bengal.

The NRC is "a must" for national security and will be implemented, Shah had recently said at Kolkata and assured that Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist refugees will be accorded Indian citizenship beforehand with the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

The Mamata Banerjee-headed TMC government in West Bengal has vowed that the NRC exercise will not be allowed at any cost.

When it was in the opposition, the BJP had been raising its voice on increasing number of Bangladeshi migrants in Bengaluru.

The NRC, first implemented in Assam, seeks to verify citizenship status of all those residing in India and weed out illegal immigrants.