The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not a political issue for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and it should not be blamed for a process that was started by the Congress in 1951, BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav said on Tuesday.
"We only saw the interest of state and the nation. In this, we don't see any political advantage. In the register ... names of 40 lakh people aren't there. These people are not intruders or foreigners... People did not take the NRC system seriously.
"... Why is BJP being blamed when the NRC process was started by Congress in 1951 in Assam?" Madhav said at a debate show on News18 TV channel.
He said the people whose names are not in the list will be given a second chance and number of foreign tribunals will be increased.
On the impending general election, he said that the BJP is confident of winning "all six Northeast states" benefiting from "anti-Congress feeling".
"We are confident that we will form government in the all the Northeast states... We have also benefited from the anti-Congress feeling in the region. We would like to capture more and more seats in these states," he said.
The withdrawing of support from the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, Madhav said, was caused because former Chief Minister of the state Mehbooba Mufti did not follow BJP's direction.
"If all the parties in J&K can come to an agreement, the elections can be held today. If all parties are ready, we will dissolve Vidhan Sabha. But Congress isn't ready at this moment. Congress does not wants to form a government in the state," he said.
--IANS
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