Insta
Union minister Arun Jaitley. (GettyImages)
Hitting out at the Congress and Trinamool Congress for compromising the sovereignty of India on the issue pf Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC), Union minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday (1 August) said political leaders must realise that “sovereignty and citizenship are the soul of India” and not “imported vote banks”, reported news agency ANI.
He wrote in a Facebook post that India’s sovereignty is paying a heavy price because of the quality of its political discourse. "Though Mrs Indira Gandhi and Mr Rajiv Gandhi took a particular position in 1972 and 1985 for the deletion and deportation of foreigners, Rahul Gandhi takes a contrarian position and his party turns turtle,” the Union minister was quoted as saying in the report.
Accusing the West Bengal Chief Minister of changing her stand on the issue of illegal migrants from Bangladesh, Jaitley said that as a federal front leader, Banerjee was also taking a contrary view. “Can India’s sovereignty be decided by such fickle minds and fragile hands?”
He also debunked the argument that dropping four million people from the NRC was a human rights issue. “A refugee on account of persecution may have a humanitarian consideration. Illegal migration does not have it. There is not fundamental right to any person to do so,” he said.
The opposition Congress and Trinamool Congress have disrupted Rajya Sabha proceeding for the last three days over the draft NRC published in Guwahati on Monday that left out four million residents of Assam. The NRC exercise is aimed at identification and deportation of illegal immigrants.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.
Latest