Non-Indians should be afraid of law: Rijiju

Making clear the government stance on the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said those who are not Indian citizens should be afraid of the law and system.

"People who have been left out must get their documents in place to prove their Indian citizenship. If somebody is not Indian, then that person should be scared of the system and the laws. If somebody is living illegally in this country, why should they be comfortable?" Rijiju said on the draft National Regster of Citizens which was released by the Assam government earlier this week.

The minister also criticised Opposition leaders such as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress President Rahul Gandhi and MIM's Asaduddin Owaisi, asking them to make their stand clear on illegal migrants.

"Why is the Opposition raising an issue? Why is there a need to spread fear psychosis among people? Everybody must cooperate in this case. This is an exercise in national interest. In this case, Mamata Banerjee's statements are very unbecoming of a chief minister," Rijiju said.

He said 'genuine Indians have nothing to fear' and expressed the hope that the NRC process would be completed before the 2019 elections.

--IANS

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