Mamata raises NRC issue in a meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah

(PTI) New Delhi, Ta. September 19, 2019, Thursday

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday after meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which he included the actual Indians expelled from the NRC in Assam, while addressing the real Indians of Assamese society and resolving their problems.

In her first meeting with BJP President Amit Shah, who became the Home Minister three months ago, Mamata Banerjee said issues including NRC were discussed.

After the meeting with Amit Shah, Mamata Banerjee said, "I met the Home Minister to discuss the NRC in Assam and told him that many genuine Indians were excluded from the NRC list. Since these Indians are very frustrated with not being named in the NRC, I have requested them to help them in this matter.

The Chief Minister of West Bengal said that the actual Indians of many societies including Bengal, Bihari, Gorkha and Assamese have been excluded from the National Register of Citizens. I have requested the Home Minister to examine and resolve these cases.

The final list of the NRC was published on August 31, excluding the names of 19 lakh people. The Home Minister has assured him of an inquiry into the matter, he said.

Stating that there was no discussion with the Home Minister regarding the implementation of NRC in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee added that she had also said earlier that there was no need for NRC in West Bengal. Mamata claimed that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also said there was no need for NRC in his state.

The West Bengal Chief Minister, who will visit New Delhi after a long time, said that meeting with the Prime Minister and Home Minister is a constitutional responsibility. West Bengal is connected to international borders with Bangladesh and Bhutan and also has some problems with neighboring states Bihar and Jharkhand.

Therefore, a meeting with the Home Minister is necessary in this perspective. The Chief Minister said that he had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday and raised the issue of changing the name of the state. He invited the Prime Minister to inaugurate the second largest coal block in the world.