Addressing the massive upheaval created by the Opposition on Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue, Union Minister Arun Jaitley said that sovereignty and citizenship are the soul of India and not imported vote banks.

On Wednesday, Arun Jaitley said in a Facebook post that leaders like Rahul Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee are treating the nation's sovereignty like a plaything. He added that Mamata Banerjee had taken a stand against infiltration in the state in 2005 but is now saying the contrary as a federal front leader.

He asserted that India's sovereignty is suffering due to the poor quality of discourse in the nation, alleging that though Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi took a particular position in 1972 and 1985 for the deletion and deportation of foreigners, Rahul Gandhi takes a contrarian position and 'his party turns turtle'.

He emphasised the problem of illegal migrants in Assam, saying that pre-1971 migrants might have moved for reasons of persecution, but migrants who came after 1971 have entered the country illegally. Jaitley also said that in the 50 years between 1961 and 2011, the majority community in Assam has grown 2.4 times; the minority has grown 3.9 times, causing a huge impact on the demography of the state.

Comparing the situation to the compromise of sovereignty in Jammu and Kashmir, Arun Jaitley also said that territory and citizens are the two most important aspects of a sovereign state and that the key duty of any government was to defend the borders of the country, prevent any trespass and make the life of its citizens safe and secure.

(Featured Image – The Indian Express)