‘Several States are demanding a register, though they are competent enough to detect and deport foreign nationals’
Before the Centre rolls out a plan to compile a countrywide National Register of Citizens (NRC) on the lines of the document compiled in Assam, it will have to decide a common cut-off date, a senior government official said.
Home Minister Amit Shah reiterated his stand on a wider NRC exercise a few days ago in Kolkata when he said “all infiltrators will be thrown out” while assuring six non-Muslim communities from neighbouring Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan that the “BJP government will bring the Citizenship Amendment Bill before NRC.” The Bill seeks to provide citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsis and Christians from the three neighbouring countries.
The official said that under Article 6 of the Constitution, the cut-off date for migration to India from Pakistan is July 19, 1948. “There are other provisions like citizenship by birth and naturalisation as per the Citizenship Act, 1955. Several States are demanding NRC but States are competent enough to detect and deport foreign nationals,” said the official. In Assam, the cut-off date for inclusion in the updated NRC is March 25, 1971, as spelt out in the Assam Accord.
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