Congress slams Karnataka govt over NRC, says 'focus on the floods'

Congress leader Rajat Ullagaddimath on Friday has slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Karnataka over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue. Referring to Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai's statement about the ongoing talks for the implementation of NRC, Rajat urged the government should first concentrate on the flood-affected areas in the state.

Congress leader Rajat Ullagaddimath said,  "NRC is a national issue. Basavaraj Bommai, the Home Minister of Karnataka, should first concentrate on the flood-affected areas of the state and see that he releases the fund from the Centre to solve this major issue." 

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He also mentioned that Mahatma Gandhi and all the freedom fighters had earlier fought for communal harmony in the country. "Today, the one who is in power, both at Centre and in the state are determined to create an imbalance in the harmony of this country to serve their political purposes. So, I would request Basavaraj Bommai and urge him to immediately take all the actions and speak with Amit Shah or Prime Minister Narendra Modi and release the fund for the flood-affected areas of this state," he said.

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Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai's statement

Earlier, cracking down on infiltration, the BJP government in Karnataka, on Thursday, is proposing a National Registry for Citizens (NRC) in the state, as per sources.

Bommai said, "Talks are ongoing for the implementation of NRC in the state. Karnataka is one of the states where a lot of people from across the border are coming and settling down because of which there are lots of issues. We are collecting all the information. We will discuss with the Union Home Minister and then go ahead."

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NRC in Karnataka in plans 

The clamour for NRC in Karnataka has been on for some time. Bangalore South Lok Sabha MP Tejaswi Surya had demanded the implementation of NRC in Karnataka in the parliament during the finance session. He had also claimed that around 2,00,000 illegal immigrants from Bangladesh lived in Bengaluru alone. Additionally, sources report that the government has already identified two detention centres in the state, as stated by Bommai. Bommai has said that in consensus with Union Home Ministry, the state will perform census and then implement NRC in the state. 

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(with ANI inputs)