Bangladesh shouldn’t worry about Assam’s citizenship move: Indian official

[Homo Sapiens]

https://bdnews24.com/neighbours/201...about-assams-citizenship-move-indian-diplomat

Bangladesh shouldn’t worry about Assam’s citizenship move: Indian official
Senior Correspondent bdnews24.com

Published: 2018-07-31 11:09:29.0 BdST Updated: 2018-07-31 13:38:26.0 BdST

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  People wait in queue to check their names on the draft list at the National Register of Citizens (NRC) centre at a village in Nagaon district, Assam state, India, July 30, 2018. Reuters

The draft National Register of Citizens or NRC in Assam will “not affect” Bangladesh, an Indian diplomat in New Delhi has said.




The NRC list that was published on Monday is only a draft, the diplomat who asked not to be named, told bdnews24.com

“Every individual of Assam state will be given adequate time and opportunity to prove his or her claim,” the diplomat said, citing the Indian home minister’s statement that every individual will get “justice” and will be treated in a “humane manner”.

“The exercise is being carried out in a totally objective, transparent and meticulous manner.”

The draft raises concern as about four million people, mostly Muslims, have been excluded from the list of citizens. There has been rhetoric in Assam that there are ‘illegal’ Bangladeshis who will be driven out after the new registration.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry did not make any official statement on this issue.

The Indian diplomat referred to Bangladesh High Commissioner in India Syed Muazzem Ali’s recent statement in Kolkata that the publication of draft is an “internal matter” of India and that New Delhi never raised the issue at the official level.

“The issue has not been officially raised by both the governments,” Ali said.

“So, as of now this is an internal matter and I have seen conflicting positions of different Indian states on this particular issue and I will not interfere in an internal matter.”

The high commissioner said the issue can only become “bilateral” if the Indian government takes it up with the Bangladesh government.

Mentioning the statement made by the Bangladesh high commissioner, he said Dhaka has nothing to worry about.

The diplomat said the Supreme Court of India is monitoring the process.

“It’s not a political process. The government is working as per the instruction and supervision of the Supreme Court.”

The chief minister of Assam has said that there is no question of anyone being put in detention camp. “No one will be treated as a foreigner if his or her name does not appear in the NRC draft.”

The NRC exercise is taking place as per the special provision of the citizenship act (1955) and the citizenship rule (2003) as amended.

The central government has asked the state government of Assam to ensure that law and order is maintained and no-one is allowed to take law into their hands and all possible arrangements are made to ensure safety and security for all.

“No person is allowed to be harassed and no-one is allowed to create fear or panic. The government of India will provide all necessary help to the government of Assam in this regard.”

 

[Flynn Swagmire]

LoooL, we know that, it will not effect Bangladesh. Most of Bangladeshis worry about Assamese Bengali peoples fate!

Ahom peoples are not known for civility...

 

[Homo Sapiens]

• https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/assam-nrc-centre-relieved-as-bjp-smells-opportunity/story-GRd4PsGKwI27Gym4ZRX7MO.html

Assam NRC: Centre relieved as BJP smells opportunity
Critics argue that the distinction BJP is making is not between political and economic migrants but on communal grounds.
india Updated: Jul 31, 2018 11:01 IST

Prashant Jha
Hindustan Times, New Delhi

In what appears to be a carefully calibrated approach to dealing with the contentious issue of the National Register of Citizens in Assam, the Union government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) believe they have struck a right balance between a set of competing administrative obligations, diplomatic constraints, and political needs with the publication of the final draft of the NRC, said three persons ( a senior government functionary and two key party officials) familiar with the exercise. None of the three wished to be identified.

These needs included fulfilling the Supreme Court-mandated process of documenting citizens, ensuring that the law and order situation in Assam did not deteriorate with the publication of the list, preventing a dip in ties with Bangladesh, and critically, appearing to fulfill an electoral commitment which would help the party in the state and elsewhere in the 2019 elections. But both the government and the party are aware of challenges ahead.

The government functionary said: “We had to complete the exercise since the Supreme Court was clear and unwilling to give any leeway. There was apprehension it could lead a security nightmare. But the process has been as smooth as possible, given its scale. Things will settle down further in the next few days. Those who did not find their names may be anxious but know it is not the end of the road.”

In fact, he added that the entire public messaging of both the Union and state government, with both home minister Rajnath Singh and Assam chief minister Sarbananada Sonowal, was focused on precisely the opportunity people would have from now on.

“In a month, the process to file claims and objections can commence, for those who feel their names were wrongly deleted and for those who believe a name was wrongly added respectively. This will take time. Then a final list will be published. Then, those who want to challenge it can go to the Foreigners Tribunal and subsequently the courts,” he reiterated. Till then, they will not be treated as foreigners and not disenfranchised in any manner.

All of this, he added, will take time. “Till now, the process had to determine who is a citizen. Now it has to determine who is not a citizen. Be prepared for a long haul.”

The time actually gives exactly the cushion the government is seeking because it feels that once the final list of illegal immigrants is published, the pressure to act on it will increase and that is far more difficult. “Deporting them is not really an option,” the functionary said. The government also has to consider ties with Bangladesh, which has been a partner in security terms and has categorically conveyed that it will not accept anyone. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina heads for elections soon, and India sees her as an ally and is hoping for her victory and would not like to make the situation difficult for her. “The solution for what to do finally has to come from within Assamese society. There is no immediate hurry.”

But even as the administrative and legal process is one component of the exercise, the BJP believes that this is politically beneficial for the party and will make it the central plank in the Lok Sabha polls in Assam in 2019, with potential benefits elsewhere.

“It may have been SC-mandated but the government of the day can often cause delays. The issue of illegal immigrants was our core issue in 2016 assembly election. The entire existence of the BJP in Assam depends on this issue. And we ensured this process went through. We will obviously emphasise this point,” said a key strategist for the party in the region.

He added that it was important to recognise the process for what it meant. “This is a symbolic exercise. We have proven a point. We know we can’t throw everyone whose names are not there into the sea. A middle ground will have to be found eventually. This could take the form capping the number of constituencies where they are present, having limited enfranchisement, or work permits.” But for now, the sense in the party is that it has enough in its favour to go into elections in Assam because the message has gone out that incentives have changed. “Earlier the message was that those who came from outside will be cultivated as vote banks and given incentives. Now it is that they will have no incentives and confront the might of the state and law. Our voters wanted this, both in Assam and the rest of the country,” said a second BJP member.

There is one challenge though for the BJP in particular. A breakdown of the four million who are excluded could throw up a significant element of Hindus, particularly the Bengali-speaking Hindus of the Barak valley. Some estimates suggest this could be even as high as one fourth of the total number of excluded.

“For us, that is why it is important that the NRC process goes hand in hand with the citizenship amendment bill. The story is not complete for us till we are able to convince people in Assam to ma- ke a distinction between political refugees and economic migrants,” said the first BJP strategist.

Critics however argue that the distinction BJP is making is not between political and economic migrants but on outright communal grounds, between Hindus and Muslim migrants, as a ploy to deepen communal polarisation. The Citizenship Amendment Bill provides for citizenship to those illegal immigrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh who are from Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi or Christian backgrounds. There has been a concerted opposition to the move in Assam, including by BJP allies such as the Asom Gana Parishad, who believe that all outsiders, and not just those of Muslim descent, should be excluded.

Nekibur Zaman, a Guwahati-based advocate and former vice-chairman of the Northeast Bar Council, said the process will not benefit the BJP. “The Assam accord was signed in 1985, but no government had taken the initiative for 33 years. But it was under the SC that the second NRC draft was published today. It was not because of any party - neither Congress nor BJP - that this has happened.”

He argued that while Congress was catering to a ‘Muslim-Bengalis’ who were foreigners, the BJP was favouring ‘Hindu-Bengalis’. “Neither party will benefit. What is needed is a constitutional safeguard for the indigenous people of Assam.”

 

[Evil Flare]

whats the point of citizenship move ???

 

[fallstuff]

whats the point of citizenship move ???

Indian domestic politics. Anti Muslim rhetoric works well for BJP in election.