Shivraj Singh Makes NRC Promise Amid Row of ‘Bangladeshi Entrants’ in Poll-Bound Jharkhand

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday promised to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Jharkhand if the BJP comes to power in the state.

Union minister and Jharkhand BJP assembly election manager Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the party is determined to protect the land from illegal immigrants entering the country.

“BJP will release its election manifesto. This election is not about making someone CM or power, it is about saving Jharkhand. We are determined to protect ‘Roti, Mati aur Beti’. Due to the influx of people from Bangladesh , the condition of the people of the region is changing rapidly,” said Chouhan.

“Earlier, the tribal population in the Santhal region was more than 44%. Now, we have come down to 28%…Population is badly affected by these entrants…Hemant Soren government is favoring entrants with vote bank politics…We will implement NRC in Jharkhand…”

The NRC is a record of all legal citizens of India, which allows the Center to identify and deport illegal immigrants. It was first implemented in Assam in 2013-2014.

BJP’s case against Jharkhand Government

The BJP has repeatedly raised the issue of demographic change in Jharkhand and accused the state government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren of allowing “Bangladeshi immigrants” to enter Santhal Pargana to enter the land.

The group raised the alarm that ‘Bangladeshi immigrants’ are allegedly marrying tribal women, buying land, and usurping jobs for local people in the state.

The matter also reached the Jharkhand High Court on September 12 when the Home Ministry filed an affidavit seeking ‘The Center is concerned and vigilant about illegal migration in certain parts of Jharkhand.’

Last month, the court observed that the district government was silent on the reason of reducing the tribal population in the Santhal Pargana district.

These remarks were made in a court order passed during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which highlighted the allegations of illegal migration of people to Bangladesh in the region, which has led to demographic changes in the state.

Soren dismissed the BJP’s allegations of demographic change in Jharkhand, suggesting that critics should look at demographic data in neighboring West Bengal. “They are talking about corrupting the population and the invaders of Bangladesh. I would like to tell them to go and get the data from the Center and see what region it is in and what state it is in,” he said earlier.

Jharkhand Elections Near

Members of the Election Commission of India (ECI), headed by the Chief Election Commissioner, Rajiv Kumar, visited Ranchi last month for polling preparations in the state which is scheduled to hold elections later this year.

The state BJP team held a meeting with the delegation and urged them to make arrangements to ensure that the suspected infiltrators cannot vote.

Elections are scheduled to be held in November or December this year to elect all 81 members of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly. The voting panel is yet to make an official announcement of the dates.