Theatre of politics plays out

Notwithstanding the aim of 3Ds (detection, deletion from the electoral rolls and deportation) by revising Assam’s 1951 NRC with a cut-off year of 1971, the politics of the country remains at the core of it.

As the Union government took a conciliatory position, the state BJP and West Bengal Chief Minister and her party, Trinamool Congress (TMC), entered competitive politics to size up their respective vote share in a polarised situation.

At the core of the exercise has been identifying illegal migrants from Bangladesh in Assam. The ruling party in the neighbouring West Bengal saw in this a BJP design to “disenfranchise minority settlers in Assam” and an opportunity to consolidate its own vote bank at the national level. Banerjee was the only leader in the country who talked about “bloodbath and a civil war” after publication of the draft NRC on July 30. The West Bengal CM even travelled to the Capital and met several leaders, including BJP stalwart LK Advani, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and a few others, to impress upon them the negative ramifications of the NRC exercise.

Noting that cities in India have a “cosmopolitan composition”, Mamata is reported to have said that the exercise can have grave implications as certain states have diverse population. “Why go on and on about Bangladesh? You are maligning a sovereign country. We agreed to take in all those who came into India before 1971 as citizens. So, why treat them as aliens,” she said. She also accused that the BJP was forcing a divide among the largely Bengali-speaking people, identified as “foreigners”, on communal lines.

Claiming that the 40 lakh names that failed to find a mention in the draft NRC are from all the communities, Mamata has been of the view that talking about them on religious lines “will cause commotion”. BJP’s long-established stand is that the Hindu immigrants be regarded as “refugees”, who fled to India to escape religious persecution, while the others as “infiltrators”, who should be expelled.

On the face of it, Mamata’s fear of BJP’s bid to politically exploit the exercise does not appear completely out of mark as senior functionaries of the saffron outfit do not rule out making preparations to assist the Hindu minority of Bangladesh, who may not make it to the final version of the NRC.

A senior Assam BJP leader says that the state unit of the party is of the view that the Hindu immigrants should first be put in shelter camps and suitably rehabilitated once the infrastructure is in place. “We are aware of the fact that Assamese people do not favour such an idea. However, we can always send them to the other states and rehabilitate them,” he says.

In the TV debates that kicked off soon after the complete draft NRC was published on July 30, senior BJP leader Ram Madhav said: “No country allows infiltration across its borders. We have been championing this cause for more than three decades and India cannot tolerate this. It is not about Hindus or Muslims, but about Bangladeshi infiltrators occupying large tracts of land.”

The Parliament, which was in session, too saw its share of politics. BJP president Amit Shah was not allowed to speak full throttle in the Rajya Sabha amid the Opposition uproar over the issue. Later, during a press conference though, he insisted that “ghuspathiye (infiltrators) have to go”. On the other hand, Home Minister Rajnath Singh struck a different chord when he told the Parliament on July 30: “No coercive action will be taken against anyone. Hence there is no need for anyone to panic. This is a draft, not a final list.”

Giving reasons for Rajnath Singh’s “conciliatory tone”, a senior BJP leader said that as India has friendly relations with Bangladesh, “the Home Minister spoke in measured words”. He, however, clarified that the “the BJP has no such compulsion and party line will prevail. India cannot be a sanctuary for all kinds of elements. Somebody had to recognise this reality and act. We did it.”

As politics played out over the issue, Congress appeared reluctant to stake ownership over the exercise even though it all began when the party, led by the then CM Tarun Gogoi, was in power in Assam. The process for the NRC in the state had begun in 2013 following the Supreme Court’s direction. Party leaders from Assam are of the view that Congress should claim ownership over the NRC as it emanated from the Assam Accord. However, the central leadership appears to strike a balance between mollifying their Assam unit and the party’s broader national aims. On the contrary, in press conferences that Gogoi held in Guwahati and New Delhi, he claimed the NRC to be his baby. “It’s Congress’ baby. I am the natural father; Amit Shah has become the foster father.” — MR