On a day in which over 1.02 lakh names were additionally excluded from the draft National Register of Citizens, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Congress party must take credit for the exercise under way in Assam and his government was only following the rules laid out by the Supreme Court.
"On one hand, you claim we don't give you credit. Why don't you take credit for this," Mr. Modi asked Congress, while replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Mr. Modi said the Assam Accord, signed by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, mandated maintaining a National Register of Citizens and the Supreme Court ordered the exercise to identify illegal immigrants in the State. "We are only following the Supreme Court's order," he said.
Mr. Modi said, according to him, the issue should not be seen as vote bank politics, but for the unity, integrity and bright future of the country.
Congress member from Assam Ripun Bora said he would give in writing the misinformation in the Prime Minister's speech without elaborating which part of the speech was factually wrong.
