Rajya Sabha adjourned amid furore; Amit Shah, Rajnath unable to speak on NRC
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BJP Chief Amit Shah on Wednesday was invited by Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu to continue his comments on the National Register of Citizens (NRC) final draft. Amid opposition-led uproar, Shah was unable to make his comments while Home Minister Rajnath Singh was also not able to speak in the House. The House was adjourned for the day.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned on Tuesday after Shah's comments led to vociferous protests from the Congress and the TMC.
Shah on Tuesday hit out at the Congress stating that the party did not have the courage to identify illegal immigrants living in Assam.
Rajya Sabha adjourned till tomorrow after protests by TMC and other opposition members over #NRCAssam draft issue pic.twitter.com/AGknEmUoDa
— ANI (@ANI) August 1, 2018
"NRC is being conducted on the SC order. There are 40 lakh people (missing in the list) ... Whom do you want to save? You want to save illegal Bangladeshis," PTI quoted the BJP chief as saying.
Shah added that the National Register of Citizens was similar to the Assam Accord, signed by Rajiv Gandhi and the leaders of the Assam Movement in 1985. The movement — to identify and deport illegal immigrants living in Assam — had been launched in 1979. It culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord.
"This was the Congress PM's initiative. He (Rajiv Gandhi) did not have the courage. We have the courage and we are doing it," PTI quoted Shah as saying.