Amit Shah Says NRC Will be Carried Out Across India, Including in Assam Again

New Delhi: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) process will be carried out across India, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, clarifying there would be no discrimination on the basis of religion.

"The process of NRC will be carried out across the country. No one irrespective of their religion should be worried. It is just a process to get everyone under the NRC," Shah said in response to a supplementary during the Question Hour in the Upper House. He said there is no provision in NRC that excludes people belonging to other religions.

In Assam, the NRC process was carried out as per an order of the Supreme Court, said Shah, adding that when the NRC will be implemented in the entire country, Assam will also be included.

"People from all religions who are Indian citizens will be included. There is no question of any discrimination on the basis of religion. The NRC is a different process and the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) is different," he said.

The Assam citizen's list, put out in August, left out 19 lakh people. Shah said that in Assam, people whose name has not figured in the draft list yet have the right to approach tribunals.

"Tribunals will be constituted across Assam. If any person doesn't have the money to approach tribunals, then the Assam government will bear the cost to hire a lawyer," he said.

Shah reiterated that all citizens of India, irrespective of religion, will figure in the NRC list.

On the controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill, which seeks to provide citizenship status to non-Muslims refugees - Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Christians and Sikhs and Parsis – he said the government feels they should get citizenship and this is why the bill has been brought in.

"All refugees coming from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan on account of religious atrocities will get citizenship under the Bill," he said.

Shah said the Lok Sabha had passed the Bill and the select committee had approved it, but the Lok Sabha had lapsed. "Now it will come again. It has no connection with the NRC," he said.