A plea has been made in the Supreme Court to initiate action against BJP president Amit Shah for “undermining the status of the Supreme Court” by making statements in political rallies that the Citizenship Act (Amendment) Bill of 2016 will precede the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.
The plea filed by Assam Andolan Sangrami Manch has asked the court to act against the BJP president if his statements are found to be “contemptuous” .
“The recent statement of Mr. Shah at various election rallies and press conference at West Bengal that the Citizenship Act 2016 will come first and then the NRC will come so that Hindu infiltrators could be incorporated in the NRC by giving them citizenship has left the people of Assam shocked, surprised and scared,” the organisation submitted.
The Manch said its objective is to protect the language, culture and heritage of the indigenous people of Assam. Its application said the 2016 Act has been widely opposed by the people of the State as it intends to treat undocumented persons from Pakistan, Afghanisation and Bangladesh following the Hindu, Christian, Parsi, Jain and Sikh faiths as “a class of persecuted people” and not as illegal immigrants.
“The present backwardness of Assam is mainly due to influx of foreigners which has reduced the growth rate of Assam by placing it at the bottom amongst the other States of India,” the application claimed.
The application is in the nature of an intervention in the pending case in which a Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Nariman is monitoring the progress in the publication of the final NRC by July 31.
The Manch told the apex court that Mr. Shah’s statements has now given a “colour of religion in the process of updating the NRC, which holy work has been monitored by the Supreme Court without any discrimination of religion”.
“Sri Amit Shah’s statement has given a wrong message to the people of Assam and is an onslaught on the judicial process of this court which has provided the utmost hope and faith to the people of Assam,” the plea said.
The application said Mr. Shah’s statements in political rallies give the impression that it was the BJP which brought the NRC. This has sowed confusion in the minds of the people who believe the NRC publication process is being done under the neutral watch of the Supreme Court .
