NRC should be implemented in Bengal too : Dilip Ghosh

BJP, he said, is committed to protecting the interest of Hindu refugees through the Citizenship Amendment Bill.

Ghosh accused the TMC government of aiding Bangladeshi infiltration in the border areas of Bengal to secure its minority vote bank, a charge often brought by the saffron party.

"We demand that just like Assam, NRC should also be implemented in Bengal. If the TMC government is not willing to bite the bullet, we(BJP) will implement it and drive out Bangladeshi Muslims from the state after we come to power in 2021," he told reporters here.

Hindu refugees who have been forced to leave Bangladesh and other countries due to religious persecution or for other reasons would be given citizenship of the country under the Citizenship Amendment Bill, Ghosh said.

"The Hindu refugees don't need to worry. BJP will stand by them and they will be given citizenship," he added.

Illegal infiltration and implementation of NRC were the major poll planks of BJP in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha elections in which it bagged 18 of the 42 seats in the state, four less than the ruling TMC.

The updated final NRC, which validates bonafide Indian citizens of Assam, was out on Saturday, with over 19 lakh applicants who failed to make it to the list staring at an uncertain future.

A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded, a statement from the NRC State Coordinator's office said here.

Those who have been excluded from the National Register of Citizens have 120 days to appeal against it at Foreigners Tribunals.