NRC not a political issue for us: Ram Madhav
New Delhi, Aug 7 : The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not a political issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it should not be blamed for a process that was started by the Congress in 1951, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said on Tuesday.
"We only saw the interest of state and the nation. In this, we don't see any political advantage. In the register ... names of 40 lakh people aren't there. These people are not intruders or foreigners... People did not take the NRC system seriously.
"... Why is BJP being blamed when the NRC process was started by Congress in 1951 in Assam?" Madhav said at a debate show on News18 TV channel.
He said the people whose names are not in the list will be given a second chance and number of foreign tribunals will be increased.
On the impending general election, he said that the BJP is confident of winning "all six Northeast states" benefiting from "anti-Congress feeling".
"We are confident that we will form government in the all the Northeast states... We have also benefited from the anti-Congress feeling in the region. We would like to capture more and more seats in these states," he said.
The withdrawing of support from the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav said, was caused because former Chief Minister of the state Mehbooba Mufti did not follow BJP's direction.
"If all the parties in J&K can come to an agreement, the elections can be held today. If all parties are ready, we will dissolve Vidhan Sabha. But Congress isn't ready at this moment. Congress does not wants to form a government in the state," he said.
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Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
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"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
