Congress Attitude On NRC Impacts Country’s Sovereignty: Arun Jaitley

Kalinga TV News Network

New Delhi: Former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday lashed out at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, accusing them of politicizing the Assam’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) for petty political gains.

Venting his anger on a social media site, Jaitley wrote that the stance of Rahul Gandhi on the NRC is starkly different to that of his father Rajiv Gandhi and grandmother Indira Gandhi who always vouched for the nation’s security and integrity over everything else.

Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who has vehemently opposed the Assam NRC, Jaitley said that the TMC head who had been championing the elimination of illegal residents in the country till 2005 has now taken a complete U-turn on the issue. The Union Minister further added that both Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee must realise that the NRC is intrinsically related to the sovereignty and citizenship of the country and it should be kept out of politics.

Jaitley also emphasised that it is the sole responsibility of the government to defend the territorial integrity of the nation and prevent infiltration in order to ensure safety and security of the citizens residing in the country.

He further stated that there are some migrants who had to flee in the pre-1971 era due to threats of persecution but those who came to India post 1971 are not refugees but illegal migrants and have been residing in India illicitly since then. The Minister reflected that such persons are neither citizens nor refugees and have trespassed into India due to economic motives.