'NRC draft published in accordance with provisions of Assam Accord'

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday assured West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the NRC draft was published in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord.

After meeting the West Bengal Chief Minister, Singh said, "I told her that the draft NRC had been published in accordance with the provisions of Assam Accord and as per decisions are taken in a tripartite meeting on February 05, 2005 between the Centre, State Government of Assam and All Assam Students Union to update NRC, 1951."

The Home Minister added that the draft NRC has been prepared in accordance with the law and under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Rajnath also assured that nobody will be harassed in the entire process and an adequate opportunity of being heard will be given to all persons, whose names have not been listed in the NRC draft list.

"Nobody will be harassed in this entire process and at every stage of the process; the adequate opportunity of being heard will be given to all persons. The draft NRC has been prepared in accordance with the law under the monitoring of the Supreme Court," Banerjee said.

Banerjee met Singh earlier in the day to register her protest over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), which she claimed was a conspiracy aimed at evicting Bengalis and Biharis from Assam and to discuss possible amendments which can be brought in the draft.

Banerjee earlier in the day disapproved of the NRC final draft and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting people in the wake of general elections scheduled for next year.

She has also alleged that the BJP through NRC is conspiring against the minorities.

The draft list, 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.

The opposition parties, including, the Congress have been vociferous against the draft. Congress president Rahul Gandhi, yesterday, took to Twitter to criticised the draft and said the "execution of the critical and highly sensitive exercise is tardy".

The NRC draft features the names, addresses and photographs of all Indian citizens, who have been residing in the northeastern state before March 25, 1971.