National Register of Citizens is a mischievous plan to divide India, says Chidambaram© timesofindia.indiatimes.com

National Register of Citizens is a mischievous plan to divide India, says Chidambaram

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Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday said the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) was a “sinister and mischievous plan” to divide the country and was part of the efforts of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party to push its agenda of a “Hindu Rashtra”.

The “trinity” of NRC-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)-National Population Register (NPR) would directly affect the Muslims as any other community, even if they were left out in the NRC, would be included through the CAA, the Congress leader said during a briefing of presspersons at the party headquarters.

“The NRC is a sinister and mischievous plan to divide India. Under the NRC, every person residing in India has to prove that he is a citizen of India. In modern, liberal democracies, citizenship is based on the principle of territoriality,” he said. “Naturally, there is widespread fear and uncertainty among the Muslims of India,” he added.