Centre's Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will make NRC useless: AGP

Asom Gana Parishad, an ally of the ruling BJP in Assam, today said the ongoing updation process of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be of no use if the Centre passes the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.

AGP president and Assam minister Atul Bora said The Foreigners (Amendment) Order, 2015, and the Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015, are "back-handed means" of the Centre to grant citizenship to foreigners of "certain religions" staying in the country illegally.

"If the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, is passed, the exercise of updating the NRC will be of no use," Bora alleged at a press conference here.

He said, "The central government is trying to grant Indian citizenship to people of certain religions, claiming that they are facing religious persecution in their homelands. The AGP strongly protests any such attempt and we will stop such attempts at any cost."
The AGP, Bora said, has been in talks with other parties like the Shiv Sena, who have presence in the Parliament, over the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. "We will foil any attempt to make it into a law."
Asked to comment on West Bengal chief minister's strong opposition to the NRC complete draft, Bora said, "Politicians like Mamata Banerjee should refrain from trying to create a divide between the people for the sake of vote bank."