HM Shah shouldn't foster divisions: Yechury on NRC

Hitting out at Amit Shah for saying NRC is a must for national security, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said no law that excludes any faith can exist in India and the Union home minister should stop "fostering divisions" in the country.

Yechury's remarks come soon after Shah while addressing a BJP seminar on the National Register of Citizens in Kolkata said the NRC, which till now is restricted to Assam, is essential for the security of the country and will be implemented.

The home minister made it clear that Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist refugees will be accorded Indian citizenship beforehand with the passage of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

"All faiths means ALL faiths: Jews, Parsis, Hindus, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, non-believers & every other. No law that excludes any faith stands the test of India. HM must stop fostering divisions & attempts to damage India and hurt Indians," Yechury said in a tweet.

"India rejected the two-nation theory put forth by Savarkar and Jinnah, and that is our constitutional principle. India belongs to all Indians, irrespective of their caste, creed, gender, colour, creed, faith, eating habits, occupation or political beliefs," he tweeted.

Yechury alleged that the "puppet police" of the TMC had arrested CPI(M) state committee member Palash Das and 16 others who were showing black flags to the home minister upon his arrival.

In another tweet, he said, "17 of our comrades arrested and still in custody for a protest planned against Amit Shah.