Leave no Indians out of NRC list: Bengal Left leaders
Kolkata, Aug 5: West Bengal's Left Front leaders on Sunday demanded that no Indian citizen should be left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and accused the BJP and Trinamool Congress of trying to communally polarise people on the issue.
"We want all the Indians to be registered in the NRC list. Not a single person should be left out. All the Indian citizens among the 40 lakh persons left out of the draft NRC in Assam should be immediately registered," West Bengal Left Front Chairman Biman Bose said.
Accusing Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of opposing the NRC to gain political mileage and promote communal polarisation, Communist Party of India-Marxist State Secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra said that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Banerjee's Trinamool Congress were on the same page on the citizens' list in the past.
"Banerjee brought forth this idea of NRC to Bengal. We all know her mindset regarding the Bangladesh refugees since 2005. Now she is opposing it (NRC) to promote communal polarisation so that people think that the Trinamool and the BJP are fighting. But actually, their stand on this issue is the same," Misra alleged.
He said that the BJP and its allies would not have been able to get a foothold in Bengal without Banerjee's support.
"The BJP has been trying to do this for a long time. I can recall that they were attempting this even 40 years ago. But they will not get any foothold in West Bengal without the support of this Chief Minister," he added.
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345 Indian fishermen stranded in Iran return home via Armenia
New Delhi (PTI): A group of 345 Indian fishermen, who were stranded in Iran amid escalating regional tensions, returned to India via Armenia on Saturday, officials said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar thanked his Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan for assistance in return of the Indian nationals.
The Indian nationals arrived in Chennai this evening, the officials cited above said.
The circumstances that led to them being stranded in Iran were not immediately known.
"Thank FM @AraratMirzoyan and the Government of Armenia for facilitating the evacuation of Indian fishermen today from Iran, through Armenia to India," Jaishankar said on social media.
Over 1,500 Indian nationals have left Iran through land border crossings in Armenia and Azerbaijan since the start of the West Asia conflict over a month ago.
"A group of Indian fishermen, stranded in Iran, are returning home via Armenia today; their flight is expected to reach India this evening," a government statement said.
It said the Ministry of External Affairs continues to closely monitor the evolving situation in the West Asian region, with the safety, security and welfare of the Indian community being accorded the highest priority.
It also made a mention of five Indians being injured in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
According to Abu Dhabi authorities, the Indian nationals were among the 12 people injured by debris from an intercepted missile.
"In an attack in Abu Dhabi, five Indian nationals were injured; four have been discharged, one remains under treatment," the Indian government's statement said.
It said the Indian mission in Abu Dhabi is extending "full" assistance and coordinating with local authorities, adding that their flight is expected to reach India this evening.
