BJP chief Amit Shah was not wrong when he said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the soul of the Assam Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

BJP chief Amit Shah was not wrong when he said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the soul of the Assam Accord signed by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

The four-page document signed on 15 August, 1985, in presence of the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, home secretary RD Pradhan, Assam government chief secretary PP Trivedi, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bhrigu Phukan (from All Assam Students' Union) and Biraj Sharma of All Assam Gana Sangram Parishad, does not mention the word NRC but clearly gives a sense that such documentation would be required to complete the process of “detection and deletion” of “foreigners'” names, those who came to the state after 1 January, 1966 from the electoral rolls.

The Accord also put it on record that dialogue with AASU was initiated by Indira Gandhi in 1980 and continued after Rajiv's death. The question remains: Why is the Congress not letting Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh speak in Upper House of Parliament? That too, when Congress and rest of the Opposition are in strong numbers in that House and thus are in position to counter, if need be, to an argument advanced by top leaders on treasury benches.

It’s ironic that 33 years later, the Congress doesn’t like to take credit for the NRC. With Congress president Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia at the helm, the grand old party could have presented the NRC as one of the biggest tributes to Rajiv's memory. It’s rather intriguing as to why the Congress is demanding an apology from Shah for his remarks on Rajiv and disrupted the House for the second consecutive day. For the Congress, it seemingly does not matter that Rajiv's role and what was inked in the 1985 Assam Accord is a matter of recorded history.

On Tuesday, around 1 pm, the Congress disrupted the House immediately after Shah finished a sentence recalling Rajiv and the Assam Accord. Congress didn’t allow Shah to resume his speech on Wednesday: Either in the morning or in the afternoon. It should be noted that while Rajiv clearly mentioned the word “foreigner” for “detection and deletion”, none of the Congress leaders in their statements and speeches — inside and outside of Parliament for past three days — used the words foreigner, illegal immigrants or Bangladeshis. Their senior-most leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge are making all possible noises, including raising the specter of "humanitarian issues", to subvert NRC.

Recalling Rajiv and 1985 raises another fear for Congress brass: Of Rahul taking a diametrically opposite position on illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Assam than his grandmother Indira and father Rajiv. The Congress can ill afford the charge that it digressed from the position of Indira and Rajiv. And Congress has yet another problem: Its three-time Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has taken a stand different to the other Congress leaders even as he makes no mention of Rajiv.

In an interview to Firstpost, Gogoi said, “Etu mor idea asil (This was my idea). The NRC is my brainchild. There was no such demand in the state, there was nothing even in the Assam Accord about the setting up of the NRC. During the Congress regime, there were objections that multiple illegitimate people were given the right to vote, which is why the NRC was set up. To distinguish between genuine Indian citizens and foreigners who could illegitimately vote in our elections.”

In Congress, Gogoi holds the record of being chief minister for 15 consecutive years (so was Sheila Dixit, but then Delhi is not a full state). Gogoi is aware of the popular sentiment in Assam and even if his days in active politics are at an end, he still wants Congress to retain whatever goodwill is left. Congress' confused positioning on this critical issue will further reduce its social support base. The central party leadership apparently is no longer listening to Gogoi.

The Congress’ “high command” is unmindful of the fact that the massive mandate BJP received in Assam in 2016 was a referendum against Congress’ decades long appeasement policy towards illegal immigrants. In Assam, the BJP jumped from 26 seats in the 126-member Assembly in 2011 to 86 seats in 2016. Meanwhile, the Congress shrank from 79 seats to 26 seats in that same period. The other problem for Rahul and Congress is that impulsive statements by its potential allies such as Mamata Banerjee, Mayawati, Lalu Yadav's RJD, Akhilesh Yadav’s SP, CPM, CPI, DMK, NCP and some others injected a communal colour into the NRC debate.

If the Congress has to play a role of the central pole in the formation of an anti-Modi coalition for 2019 and Rahul has to be the prime ministerial candidate, then he can’t break ranks with the Opposition.