Trinamool holds protest rallies across Bengal against NRC

Kolkata: The Centre and Assam government are using Supreme Court as a shield to scare people in the name of National Register of Citizens (NRC), TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said on Saturday.

Addressing a party rally in Nadia to protest against the publication of the NRC list in which names of 40 lakh people have been omitted, Chatterjee said: "Both the Centre and Assam government are trying to scare people using the Supreme Court as a shield." Asked whether the Trinamool Congress will give any proposal to the Centre on the NRC issue, he said: "They have not spoken to us but if the Centre wants to sit with us we will give our proposal."

The TMC organised rallies and meetings throughout the state on Saturday. It may be mentioned that Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee had met Union Home minister Rajnath Singh in Delhi during her recent visit and discussed the matter.

The party had observed "Black Day" on August 4 and 5 after eight of the party's MPs and MLAs were stopped at Silchar airport and not allowed to meet the people whose names have been omitted from the list. The TMC will hold a meeting in Kolkata on Sunday to protest against the publication of a faulty list.

Rallies were taken out at Midnapore town as well where thousands of party workers and common people took part. Addressing the meeting, a local leader said the BJP was trying to scare people before the Lok Sabha polls.

The leaders took a pledge to stand by the side of the genuine Indians whose names did not appear in the list published by the Centre.

Trinamool leaders and workers wore black badges and shouted anti-BJP slogans. In the rally that will be held in Kolkata on Sunday, all the party's MLAs and MPs will participate.