TMC to stage protest against NRC on Nov 11

Kolkata, Nov 07: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, a staunch critic of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), on Thursday said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will protest against it on November 11, 2019

The NRC implementation is one of the several issues over which Banerjee and BJP-led Centre are at loggerheads. The NRC is a contentious issue, it is an exercise to update database of citizens and identify illegal migrants.

For the BJP, NRC implementation and the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill are two of the very important issues and Union Minister Amit Shah has on many occasions said that NRC is an important step for the country's safety. The BJP accuses Mamata Banerjee of playing vote bank politics over NRC.

The BJP has made it clear that it wants to implement NRC in West Bengal. Getting the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill passed in Parliament is also one of the priorities for the BJP.

"Trinamool Congress (TMC) will protest against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) on 11th November," West Bengal CM said on Thursday.

Shah has repeatedly said that the NRC exercise will be conducted across the country. Even during the run up to the LokSabha elections 2019, Shah had said in West Bengal that illegal immigrants have no place in India. Last Month, Shah had visited West Bengal, and in one of the addresses, he said, "We will ensure that it is implemented in the state, and all intruders are sent back to their right place."

No country in the world can run smoothly with the weight of so many intruders. This (illegal immigration) has to stop. We are working towards changing Bengal. We will have to implement NRC to ensure the country's safety," he said and lashed out at Banerjee..

Speculations over NRC implementation in West Bengal have reportedly created panic. Some people are said to have even committed suicide amid rumours of NRC.

NRC has been implemented in Assam. The final list in Assam was published on August 31. Nineteen lakh people were excluded from the list. Banerjee had then raised concerns about NRC in a meeting with Shah in New Delhi.