Mamata asks Rajnath to amend NRC bill

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed about bringing possible amendments to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) bill.

Mamata said that Singh, in the meeting, assured her that the people who have been left out from the Assam NRC final draft will not be harassed.

"I asked him to amend the NRC Bill or bring a new bill. He has assured me they (government) will not harass people. I also spoke to him about reports of NRC being implemented in Bengal," she said after meeting Singh.

Banerjee further said that there will be "civil war and bloodbath" if the issue of the Assam citizen's list is not solved.

Earlier today at a conference here, Banerjee accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting people through the NRC before the 2019 general elections.

"Only to win polls people can't be victimised. Don't you think people whose name is not on the list will lose a part of their identity? Please understand India-Pakistan-Bangladesh were one before partition. Whoever came from Bangladesh to India till March 1971 is Indian citizen," she said.

The Supreme Court earlier today observed that a fair chance will be given to the people, whose name is not mentioned in the draft, to substantiate their claims.

The top court further asked the Central Government to lay down the standard operating procedure on the NRC and submit it for approval.

The NRC final draft, which was released on Monday, has left out nearly 40 lakh people in Assam incorporating names of 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants. The list has been updated for the first time since 1951, to account for illegal migration from nearby Bangladesh.