Assured Bangla over NRC: MEA

New Delhi: Even as a controversy rages on over the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) list, India said it “had assured the Government of Bangladesh that this is still a draft list prepared under the orders of the Supreme Court and that the process of identification of (Indian) citizens in Assam is still underway” and that India does not apprehend any impact on its ties with Bangladesh “that remains excellent.”

Meanwhile, a delegation of Opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and the Left, urged President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday to ensure that not a single Indian citizen was excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, “We have been in very close to-uch with the Government of Bangladesh both prior to and following the issue of draft NRC at all points. We have repeatedly assured the Government of Bangladesh that this is still a draft list prepared under the orders of the Supreme Court and the process of identification of (Indian) citizens in Assam is still underway. The Bangladesh Government has taken the view that the ongoing process is an internal matter of India. We do not apprehend any impact on our ties with Bangladesh that remains excellent.”

According to news agency reports, a delegation of Opposition parties, including the Congress, TMC and the Left, submitted a memorandum to President Kovind on Thursday that accused the government of undermining the nation’s democratic and secular values and also alleged that the draft NRC had resulted in the exclusion of 40 lakh Indians.

The memorandum claimed that the NRC had resulted in the exclusion of over 40 lakh Indian citizens, including Bengalis, Assamese, Rajasthanis, Biharis, Gorkhas, Punjabis, those from Uttar Pradesh and the southern states and tribals, who were residents of Assam for a very long period.