Guwahati/Bhubaneswar, Dec 12 (IANS): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be implemented across the country.
Sarma, who was in Bhubaneswar on Thursday for a party programme, told reporters: "We have NRC in our state. That is why we have taken a decision to give Aadhaar cards to only those people who have earlier applied for the NRC. I believe, this decision will help to stop illegal infiltration in Assam. According to me, there should be a NRC in the whole country so that we can understand who are the actual citizens of India and who have infiltrated from the foreign soil to our territory."
The Assam Chief Minister also took a jibe at his West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of taking a soft stand against the infiltrators.
He said: "The international border with Bangladesh has river boundaries in many places where we can not install fencing. However, using technology, the security was beefed up along these places in Assam and Tripura. But in West Bengal, the government has taken a soft stand towards infiltrations which is making the border porous."
Meanwhile, Sarma also stated that “One Nation One Election” is a good initiative and it can bring more development to the country.
"In Assam, almost in a gap of two years, we are having either Lok Sabha polls or Assembly elections. This has been impacting the pace of development work. While in Odisha, people have been voting only once in five years for both Lok Sabha and Assembly. This is giving more room for the development,” he added.
On Wednesday, Sarma announced that the state government would start verifying Aadhaar card applicants and deny those whose families had not sought to be listed on the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
In September of this year, Sarma made the announcement that Aadhaar cards would be linked to NRC applications.
According to him, the state government has decided to implement a standard operating procedure for the distribution of Aadhaar cards in the future. This protocol will require individuals to supply their NRC application number, which they were given when they applied in 2015.