The BJP released its manifesto for Assam promising a “corrected National Register of Citizens (NRC)” if it came to power. Among its ten commitments, the party also mentioned several developmental measures, including a promise to solve Assam’s flood problem, as well as protection of indigenous rights.
Unveiling the “Sankalpa Patra” in Guwahati, BJP national president, JP Nadda said, “We are committed to bringing a corrected NRC to secure and protect Assam…We will protect genuine Indian citizens and detect illegal infiltrators so that Assam can remain Assam’s.”
The final Assam NRC which excluded 19 lakh people was published on August 31, 2019. Following that, the Sarbananda Sonowal-led BJP government, alleging wrongful exclusions and inclusions, maintained that it will not accept the NRC in its current form. Since then, the list has remained in a limbo, with those excluded not yet issued rejection orders with which they can appeal at the state’s Foreigners’ Tribunals (FTs).
While in the neighbouring state of West Bengal, which is also going to polls, the BJP promised to implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) at the first Cabinet meeting if it came to power, the law which caused widespread protests in Assam found no mention in the manifesto.
While the CAA was passed by the Modi government in December 2019, it is still to come into force as its rules are yet to be notified. While the BJP has stayed silent on the matter in Assam, the Congress has made it one of its main poll planks.
When asked about it, Nadda said that the CAA had “been passed by the Parliament” and that “it would be implemented in letter and spirit.” On the Congress’s poll promise to nullify the law, he said that the law was a “central legislation” and by voting in Assam, “a state legislation cannot change a central legislation.” “This could either be lack of knowledge or a way to dupe the public of Assam,” he said.