BJP MP Tejasvi Surya on Wednesday urged the Centre to extend the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to Karnataka as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh have become a security threat to Bengaluru and the entire state.
Speaking during the Zero Hour, Surya alleged that there are a large number of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh in entire Karnataka, especially in Bengaluru.
"Illegal immigrants are a security threat to the state. Yesterday a terror module that operates from Bangladesh was busted in Bengaluru. I call upon the Centre to extend NRC to Karnataka including Bangalore to weed out Bangladeshis who've come here illegally," said Surya in Lok Sabha.
They have not only become a security threat but also an economic threat as they are taking away jobs of locals, Surya said, urging the Centre to act against the immigrants residing there illegally.
Meanwhile, on being asked whether the NRC exercise will be undertaken in West Bengal too, the Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai evaded a direct reply.
The question was raised by Ritabrata Banerjee, an independent Rajya Sabha MP from the state who got a written reply from the minister that said, “The NRC is being implemented at present in the state of Assam only as per the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the provisions contained in the Schedule framed under Rule 4A(4) of Citizenship Rules, 2003."
NRC, which is a register containing the name of Indian citizens, puts the onus on people to furnish proof for being genuine citizens. It was in controversy for leaving out as many as 40 lakh people in Assam in its draft list last year.
The final NRC list for Assam will be published on July 31, 2019
(With inputs from agencies)
