West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee hinted that the killing of five Bengali-speaking men in Assam allegedly by ULFA (I) were an outcome of the NRC exercise.
New Delhi: Senior minister in the Assam government Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the killings of five Bengali-speaking people by suspected United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) militants Thursday evening have “no link” with the ongoing exercise to update the National Register of Citizens.
His reactions came hours after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the incident, indicating it could be an outcome of the NRC exercise.
“This is not a political war. There is no link with NRC,” Sarma told ThePrint Friday.
“ULFA has been active in Assam for decades and carries out such activities at regular intervals to establish its presence,” he said .
“ULFA has been attacking Bengali- and Hindi-speaking people for the last 20-25 years, long before the NRC exercise. Such attacks happened even during the Congress regime when there was no discussion on NRC,” said Sarma, Minister for PWD, Health and Finance, as well as convener of the BJP-led North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA).
The NRC, first published after the 1951 Census, is now being updated keeping 24 March 1971 as the cut-off to identify those who immigrated to Assam illegally from Bangladesh after that date. The final draft, released earlier this year, left out the names of around 40 lakh applicants.
Also read: Assam CM Sonowal orders strict action against suspected ULFA gunmen who killed 5 civilians
What Mamata Banerjee said
On Thursday, five Bengali-speaking daily wage workers were killed in Bisonimukh village in Assam’s Tinsukia district, allegedly by ULFA (Independent), but the outfit has now denied its involvement.
Soon after the killings, Banerjee sought to link the incident to the NRC exercise.
“We strongly condemn the attack in Tinsukia and killing of Shyamlal Biswas, Ananta Biswas, Abhinash Biswas, Subodh Das. Is this the outcome of recent NRC development?” Banerjee said.
The West Bengal chief minister has been an aggressive and vocal critic of the NRC exercise, alleging this is an attempt to persecute Bengalis, who form a linguistic minority in the state.
Also read: Not satisfied with just Assam, BJP now intensifies demand for NRC in West Bengal
‘Dastardly act’
Terming Thursday’s attacks as “dastardly”, Sarma has said all necessary action would be taken.
“This was a dastardly act and we will set up a full inquiry. We will definitely book the culprits and take all possible action to give security to all sections of society,” he said.
Formed in 1979, the ULFA enjoyed mass support in its initial years but with its record of kidnappings, killings and extortion in later years, it began witnessing civilian resistance and gradually lost popularity.
The state has witnessed a strong anti-outsider sentiment and resentment against the influx of Bengalis, Marwaris, Biharis among others into the state, with the ULFA leading a violent movement against them, particularly in the 1990s.
Really wish Sardar was alive today. Would have taught a lesson to those who divide Hindus by disallowing them to even practise their faith in peace
Not cause and effect in a manner that can be proved in a court of law, perhaps, but not unconnected either. At least twenty people have committed suicide directly as a result of not finding their names in the NRC. May the cool shade of the great Sardar’s statue fall over what sometimes looks like an increasingly disunited land,