Allaying apprehensions over any country-wide NRC exercise, Amit Shah said that it will be ensured that nobody is harassed because of their religion, according to Muslim outfit Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, which met the Union home minister.
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A joint delegation of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind Jamiat Ahle Hadees Hind called on Shah at his residence and issued a statement later.
The home minister said the government was "ready to speak to all Muslim organisations with an open heart".
According to the statement, Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind General Secretary Mehmood Madani told Shah that they might have differences with the government on several issues but they are with it on all matters of national interest.
NRC had become a thorny national issue. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told Union Home Minister Amit Shah that genuine Indians belonging to Bengali, Bihari, Gorkha and Assamese communities were excluded from the NRC in Assam and sought his intervention to ameliorate their miseries.
This was conveyed by Banerjee to Shah in her first meeting with the home minister, who assumed the office about three months ago.
"I have come to meet the home minister to discuss about the NRC in Assam and told him that many genuine Indians were excluded from the list. I have requested him to do the needful so that they can be included in the NRC as they are in distress," she told reporters after the meeting with Shah.
The chief minister said among those who were excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) include many Bengali, Bihari, Gorkhas and even Assamese.
Shah assured the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind delegation that there will be no impact on Kashmiri culture because of the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, the statement said.
Madani told Shah that "attempts are being made to harass Muslims in Assam" through NRC exercise in the state, and the home minister's statement that National Register of Citizens would be updated across the country is being presented as a "threat", the statement said.
It said that Shah responded by saying, "Nobody should be scared about NRC. Regarding Assam, we have said we will provide free legal aid to the people who have been excluded from the final NRC list."
"As far as implementing NRC across the country is concerned, name me one country where this exercise has not taken place. We will make sure nobody's citizenship is impacted because of their religion," the statement Shah as saying.
