Keeping Those Excluded from NRC in Detention Camps Not ‘Great Idea’: BJP’s Himanta Biswa Sarma

File photo of Assam Education Minister Hemanta Bishwa Sarma (PTI Photo)

Kolkata: Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that keeping people, whose names have been excluded from the NRC in the state, in detention camps is not a “great idea”. He said the proposal of keeping people in such camps is not a result of the executive thought process but that of the Guwahati High Court.

“The idea of keeping those whose names are not there in the NRC list in detention camps is not great,” said Sarma while speaking at the ‘India Today Conclave East’ here. The state finance minister said that those excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) could still stay and work in Assam on a permit and will be able to do so till Bangladesh or Pakistan take them back.

In the past, Sarma had publicly rejected the NRC in Assam, claiming that lakhs of Hindus who are genuine citizens of the country have been left out of the list. On the Citizenship Amendment Bill, he said it was a different issue than the NRC. “But for Assam, it is a combo package. Probably for West Bengal also.”

The senior BJP leader said that the Citizenship Amendment Bill and the NRC are a commitment to the nation. “We cannot let Assam and also West Bengal to be taken over by economic infiltrators,” he added.

“We want India to be safe and secure. And for that purpose some price has to be paid,” he said.

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