Jamaat-e-Islami to oppose NRC

Hyderabad: Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has announced that it will oppose carrying out of NRC exercise all over India as well as the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB).

Addressing media, Moulana Hamid Mohammed Khan, President Jamaat Telangana and Odisha, maintained that their opposition to NRC and CAB is owing to these two being against the spirit of our Constitution.

He said while preparing NRC, the government is putting the burden of proof on shoulders of the citizens while, worldwide, it is the responsibility of the government to prove a person as intruder or illegally staying in the country. The exercise will be difficult as 135 crore citizens will have to prove that they are the legitimate citizens of India. Just in Assam, the process started in 1985 following the Assam Accord during the regime of Rajiv Gandhi. But it went into cold storage before Supreme Court intervened into the matter and carried out the process under its supervision. Finally, about 20 lakh people have failed to prove that they are Indian inhabitants. “What will be the fate of these people,” he asked.

Moulana Hamid said these people are proposed to be sent to detention centres. The expenditure on a detention centre of 700-inmate capacity will be Rs 20 crore and government is not in a position to bear such huge expenditure.

According to the JIH chief, Rs 12,000 crore have been spent on NRC for a population of 3 crore in Assam. “How much money will be needed for the process involving 135-crore population of India,” he asked.