On 20th November 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Rajya Sabha the Govt. decision to prepare National Register of Citizens (NRC) in India. It is obviously a part of their efforts to make India a Hindu Rashtra. The purpose of the preparation of NRC is to target Muslims and to harass the common people. NRC should not be confused with census which is carried out every ten years and is due to be conducted in the year 2021. RSS-BJP are trying to confuse the people by saying that it is not targeted against citizens while its real target is Indian citizens only. While census data is collected by the Govt. through its agencies, in the preparation of NRC people will be asked to prove their citizenship. Experience in Assam amply proves how difficult that is going to be for the common people and working masses.
RSS-BJP are trying to couple this with amending Citizenship Act (CAB) providing for citizenship of the minorities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, the Muslim majority countries in the neighbourhood. The amendment specifically excludes Muslims from these countries from getting citizenship under the amendment even if they are facing prosecution in those countries. Inclusion of Afghanistan but exclusion of other neighbouring countries e.g. Myanmar where Muslim Rohingyas are facing genocide, further emphasizes the communal character of the amendment.
Preparation of NRC along with CAB is an attempt to carry forward Hindu Rashtra project of RSS. Hindu communal forces have since long been trying to make India exclusively for Hindus.
With economic crisis in the country deepening, growth sputtering, unemployment reaching astronomical figures and conditions of the overwhelming majority of the people, peasants and workers, declining, the people’s resentment against the ruling dispensation is growing. Pro-corporate policies of the RSS-BJP Govt. are coming into sharp focus with public sector being squandered for the benefit of the big capitalists like disinvestment in five PSUs announced on 20th November. While the Govt. is unleashing repression and burden on the overwhelming majority of the people, RSS-BJP Govt. is showering money on the corporate. Telecom giants have been exempted from payment of their dues for the next two years at least. However, peasant distress and workers’ plight are forcing their way into discourse. Despite unleashing jingoist hyper-nationalist frenzy targeting Pakistan, Kashmir and Muslims during the recently held assembly elections and insipid campaign by the main opposition party Congress, Ruling RSS-BJP fared much below their claim and corporate media’s projection. The result has galvanized the ruling class opposition from the morbid state though it was largely despite them.
With the rise of people’s disillusionment and anger, the RSS-BJP plan to disrupt the emerging unity of the people and to further sharpen the tools of repression have been further augmented. RSS-BJP Govt. has given a push to NRC and CAB, the latter they had been forced to jettison during the last Lok Sabha term. As the people’s anger mounts so do the conspiracies of the ruling RSS-BJP.
Central Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy strongly denounces the preparation of NRC and enactment of CAB as anti-people, communal and anti-India measures which must be firmly and energetically opposed. CPI(ML)-New Democracy calls upon all revolutionary, democratic and struggling forces to oppose these fascist measures of ruling RSS-BJP. All forces should be galvanized to oppose the preparation of NRC and CAB and mobilize the people for struggle against these measures.
November 21, 2019