Assam Citizen Register: Bangladesh Minister denies all on list are his country folk

BJP president Amit Shah has said that the NDA government was determined to throw out illegal Bangladeshis from the country and that NRC will be implemented “to the last full stop”.

Kolkata, August 1: Amid the political hue and cry over the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the final draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, Bangladesh Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan expressed hope that the homeless will not be pushed into Bangladesh.

Speaking to the media over telephone from Dhaka, Asaduzzaman Khan said it would be wrong to assume that they are all illegal Bangladeshis.

“After 1971 partition, few people left Bangladesh and those who left are now settled all across the world. It will be unfair to believe that they are Bangladeshis and need to be pushed back. But, yes if India gives us logic and concrete evidence that some of them are actually Bangladeshis, then the issue can be resolved through dialogue. If required, we can accept them in our country. I think in such situation, only dialogue is the way to maintain good relations,” said Khan.

The Minister maintained that the issue will not come in the way of “excellent” India-Bangladesh relationship.

“No way. We share a very good relationship with India and due to this excellent relationship, we believe that India will not push them to Bangladesh in haste,” said Khan.

On Tuesday, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee accused the Modi government of trying to make millions of people “stateless” in Assam for political gains and warned that stripping of their citizenship could lead to “bloodbath” and a “civil war” in the country.

At a press conference, Amit Shah had asserted that the NDA government was determined to throw out illegal Bangladeshis from the country and that NRC will be implemented “to the last full stop”. He also asked all political parties to clarify their stand on NRC.