BLP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya BLP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya

TAKING ON the Trinamool Congress, the BJP on Monday said there should be a similar effort to “identify illegal migrants from Bangladesh in West Bengal”, claiming that their “number could run into crores”.

“The youth in West Bengal want to identify the illegal migrants from Bangladesh as they are facing several problems like unemployment and law and order issues. The BJP supports their demand,” Kailash Vijayvargiya, BJP general secretary in charge of West Bengal, told The Indian Express.

“If the final draft (of the National Register of Citizens) in Assam found 40 lakh illegal residents, the number could run into crores in West Bengal. In Assam, the Supreme Court has monitored it. This can be done in West Bengal too,” he said.

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Meanwhile, the TMC led the protest against the government on the NRC issue in Parliament. Party MP Saugata Roy gave a notice in the Lok Sabha for an adjournment motion against the exclusion of around 40 lakh people from the final draft. The party, along with other Opposition parties, created an uproar in the Rajya Sabha too, forcing adjournments.

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Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha during zero hour, TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay said “this matter should be taken up very urgently, it is a question of more than 40 lakh people.”

The BJP’s demand for a similar exercise in West Bengal could intensify its political battle with the TMC. With the BJP seeing a rise in its vote share in West Bengal, party president Amit Shah said in a recent interview that the party was “sure of winning close to half of the total 42 (Lok Sabha) seats” from the state.

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