Assam CM pitches for pan-India NRC, claims 'illegal' Bangladeshi migrants 'spreading' to India

Guwahati: Claiming that "illegal migrants" from neighbouring Bangladesh are spreading to the rest of the country, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday pitched for a "pan-India flawless NRC."

"Foreigners are no longer a problem in Assam and West Bengal. Bangladeshis are coming to Assam and then going to many other states. They stay there for sometime, make an Aadhar card and may come back to Assam again. This has become a national problem. So a flawless NRC should be implemented in Jharkhand and in the rest of the country," Sarma told reporters in Guwahati after a government event.

Sarma, who is BJP's in-charge for Jharkhand elections, has become more vocal about "illegal migrants" from Bangladesh ahead of the Assembly elections. He also claimed that such migration has posed a threat to the tribals in Jharkhand.

Sarma said "infiltrators" from Bangladesh were being stopped and pushed back at the border in Assam almost daily since the unrest started in Bangladesh.

"In Assam, we want a flawless NRC. We want that 20 percent of the applications submitted for updation of the NRC 1951 should be re-verified. Since this is becoming a national problem, there should be a discussion in the Parliament on whether we need a pan-India NRC or not," Sarma said.

Sarma recently said Bangladeshi migrants crossed the border with Assam after the Sheikh Hasina government collapsed and settled in South Indian states like Tamil Nadu.

He claimed they were getting themselves engaged in garment factories in Tamil Nadu after many such factories in their country stopped operations due to the change of guard.