BJP national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the inauguration of Saltlake BJ block Durga Puja on October 1, 2019. (Express photo by Partha Paul) BJP national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the inauguration of Saltlake BJ block Durga Puja on October 1, 2019. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah Tuesday said the Centre will implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill before bringing in the National Register of Citizens in West Bengal.

Addressing BJP workers at a seminar in Netaji Indoor Stadium, Shah reiterated that NRC will be implemented in all the states to deport “each and every infiltrator” in the country.

“Here TMC is misleading people about NRC. Mamata Banerjee is saying that Hindu refugees will be thrown out of the country. I have come here to assure all my refugee brothers that there is no need to worry as the central government will not force them out of the country.

“I want to assure all Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist and Christian refugees, that you will not be forced to leave India by the Centre. Don’t believe rumours. Before NRC, we will bring Citizenship Amendment Bill, which will ensure these people get Indian citizenship,” he said.

The BJP national president also slammed chief minister Mamata Banerjee for saying that there will be no NRC in Bengal.

“Didi is saying there will be no NRC in Bengal. But we will identify each and every infiltrator and drive them out. When Mamata Banerjee was in the Opposition she had demanded that such infiltrators be driven out. Now when those infiltrators have become her vote bank, she does not want them to be removed. I want to remind Mamata didi of her speech on August 4 in 2005 when she had talked about the ouster of such intruders. But political ambitions should not prevail over national priorities,” Shah said.

The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress has been protesting against NRC in West Bengal. Banerjee, who met Shah earlier this month in the national capital over the matter, has been building strong public opinion against the citizenship exercise.

The TMC supremo had led a rally against NRC on September 12 in the city. Earlier in August, the West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution against NRC and Banerjee had vowed not to allow its implementation in Bengal.

Reiterating his stand that the BJP will implement National Register of Citizens (NRC) in West Bengal, state president Dilip Ghosh earlier said, “The Opposition can say whatever they want, but we will implement the NRC in Bengal. We will identify and drive away infiltrators. Amit Shahji is coming to Bengal tomorrow and he will be here to say this. However, Hindus need not worry. Every Hindu will get citizenship.”

In the panic triggered by rumours of a National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed 11 deaths in the state.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.