BJP president Amit Shah today accused "friends of the Congress, especially the TMC" of twisting facts about the National Register of Citizens.

Shah said this was not the final list. "We will take objections and we will hear their (the opposition's) side," he assured.

The ruling party president said that the Congress was doing "vote-bank politics". "Let Rahul Gandhi clear his stand on illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. National security is our top priority. You talk of illegal immigrant's human rights. What about human rights of Indians and people of Assam?" Shah questioned.

Shah recalled that, in 1971, Indira Gandhi had said that illegal immigrants would not be tolerated in the country. "I want to ask Rahul Gandhi whether he agrees with his grandmother," the BJP president asked.

The BJP president recalled further that thousands of youth of Assam had laid down their lives in a movement to ensure that the demography of Assam was not affected. He added that it was Rahul's father, the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who had signed the Assam Accord with representatives of the students' movement (All Assam Students' Union leaders Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, Bhrigu Phukan and others).

On the question as to whether the exercise of NRC would stay confined to Assam (and possibly Jharkhand), Shah said the proposition of applying it to the whole country could be discussed with all parties and debated.

BJP president Amit Shah dragged in former prime minister Rajeev Gandhi on the matter of National Register of Citizens (NRC), stating that he had endorsed the idea as well by signing the Assam Accord. Shah went a step further saying, “He didn’t have courage in him (himmat nahi tha) to implement it, we have it in us and that’s why we are implementing it.”

The Assam Accord sought to identify the outsiders in Assam. It was signed between representatives of the Union government and leaders of the Assam movement who spearheaded the struggle to identify outsiders and deport them. 

So when Shah says that the NRC has its atma in the Assam Accord, he is technically correct. Also by bringing up the Assam Accord and its non-implementation under Rajeev Gandhi, Shah has ensured that the Congress has little room to manoeuvre.

Shah pointed out that not only was Rajeev Gandhi present when the said accord was signed, he also endorsed it a day after from the ramparts of the Red Fort. Shah soon got support from Union minister of state for home affairs, Kiren Rijiju.

The NRC saw a raging debate that stalled Rajya Sabha on Monday with more than 40 lakh people of Assam having been left out of the list. All political parties have been raising the humanitarian angle and accusing the ruling BJP of playing the politics of appeasement. This was Shah's way of getting back to his opponents.