Congress' Adhir Ranjan targets Centre over NRC, calls Modi, Shah 'migrants from Gujarat'

Taking potshots at the Centre over the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Leader of Opposition for the Congress in the Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Sunday called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah "migrants" who have come to Delhi from Gujarat, ANI reported.

Accusing the BJP of promoting religious discrimination through the NRC, Chowdhury said, "They (BJP) want to drive out Muslims from the country. But why a Muslim, who is a citizen of India, should leave the country? Is this country anybody's jagir (property)? This country is for everyone, where everyone has equal rights."

"What I can say is that Amit Shah, Narendra Modi are themselves migrants. Their home is Gujarat, now they are in Delhi. Whether they are legal or illegal migrants, it will be known later," he added.

Chowdhury also said it is the poor people who are the receiving end of the NRC exercise as they are not well-read and cannot carry all the necessary paperwork. "Due to this NRC rhetoric, the real citizens of the country are worried about their fate in the country. People are not sitting carrying their (ID) papers. The poor, tribals and people from backward areas who are concerned about managing two meals a day, do not have the time to think about this. It is these people who are scared," he said.

Reacting to Chowdhury's remark, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar told ANI, "Unki akal main koi pech hila hua hai (he has a screw loose in his head)."

Chowdhury, a five-term MP from West Bengal, was named the leader of the party in the Lok Sabha in June this year.

(Inputs from The Indian Express)