Jaipur: Just a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi – seeking to pacify those protesting against his government – asserted that there has been no decision or even discussion about a nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC), Bharatiya Janata Party national vice-president Shivraj Singh Chouhan contradicted him, stating that a nationwide NRC will be implemented but only after “detailed discussions”.
Addressing a rally in Delhi on Sunday, Modi had said that the NRC was implemented in Assam because of a Supreme Court order, and his government has no plans of implementing it countrywide. “Since my government first came to power in 2014, I want to tell 130 crore countrymen, there has never been a discussion on this NRC.”
However, Chouhan, while speaking at a press conference in Jaipur on Monday, asserted that the Congress was creating confusion over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and NRC, while the Modi government is strictly pursuing a nationwide implementation of NRC. “Discussions about the NRC are going on and suggestions have been sought, but confusion is being created. The NRC will also be implemented but after detailed discussions,” he said.
Chouhan also targeted the chief ministers of non-BJP ruled states who are opposing the CAA. He claimed the Act will be implemented in each and every state, irrespective of protests by its chief minister. “The chief ministers of Rajasthan, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh are saying that CAA will not be implemented, but citizenship is a subject of the Union List. It has become a law through a constitutional process and passed by the parliament,” Chouhan said.
“They (the chief ministers) are holding constitutional posts. How can they deny its execution? The Act has to be executed. If they do not implement it, then there are other ways too for getting this done,” he added.
Also read: NRC or No NRC: Who Is Lying, Narendra Modi or Amit Shah?
While comparing Modi to the “God” of migrants, Chouhan said that the Congress never acknowledged their plight.
“Modi has come as a God for migrants whose lives were not safe, who lived in an environment of instability and who used to say that they will die but will not return to Pakistan. They have got a new lease of life,” he said.
“Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had never heard of the plight of migrants who lived in India. The BJP government is giving citizenship, not snatching it,” he added.
Chouhan rejected the claim that the BJP lost Jharkhand over the CAA.
Modi’s claim that his government had no plans to take the NRC across India was already suspect, given that his home minister, Amit Shah, has spoken about this numerous times – including in parliament. Chouhan’s words only add credence to the belief that the prime minister was attempting to mislead the public, as protests continue across the country.