Govt should declare there will be no NRC, says Trinamool Congress MP

Accusing the government of speaking in different voices over the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Trinamool Congress leader Saugata Roy on Wednesday said it should not stand on prestige and declare that the exercise will not be conducted.

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in Lok Sabha, he said people protesting at Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC were not "our enemies" and were holding the national flag.

"My appeal to the Government is to speak with one voice. Scrap the NRC and CAA and declare that there will be no NRC. Do not stand on prestige. The protesters at Shaheen Bagh are not our enemies. They are holding the National Flag and singing the National Anthem. Do not take them as enemies. Do not shoot at them. Do not shout at them. I think, shooting and shouting alone is the actual conspiracy against the Prime Minister," Roy said.

He accused the government of selectively citing Mahatma Gandhi in the Address.

"This Government is going on untruth, not according to what Gandhiji said. They should not use the name of Pujya Bapu in pursuing their nefarious, divisive political designs. I want to mention that the country is in the biggest economic crisis in many years," he said.

Roy said the Address does not mention the crisis in the auto industry, real estate sector, and the non-banking financial companies and the unemployment.

"This is an empty Address, which does not address any of the pressing problems of the country," he said

The Trinamool Congress said there have spontaneous protests since CAA was enacted.

"In Assam, three people were killed in police firing. Firing by the police has spread all over the country. In UP, the biggest State of the country, more than 20 people have been killed in police firing. The students of Jamia Millia Islamia were lathi-charged by the police on the campus itself. The protest has spread from Jamia to AMU, BHU and Delhi University. Universities and colleges, even IITs across the country, have joined the protest," he said.

He said CAA has for the first time in matters of citizenship introduced religions.

"It violates the Preamble and Article 14 of the Constitution. Four state assemblies - Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, and West Bengal - have passed resolutions against the Act. The West Bengal Chief Minister has been relentless in her fight and has walked in many-many protests since mid-December. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court in the matter," he said.