'Trinamool will oppose NRC, CAB at all costs'

Kolkata: The ruling Trinamool Congress on Thursday asserted that the party will oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill which is likely to be placed in Parliament next week, and the implementation of the NRC exercise in the state.

Trinamool secretary general and state Parliamentary Affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said the party will "oppose NRC tooth and nail".

"Our party supremo has said the party will never allow NRC in Bengal. The CAB is against the basic principles of our Constitution. How can someone be given citizenship on the basis of religion?" Chatterjee said.

The CAB seeks to amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, in order to grant Indian nationality to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians, who come to India due to religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, even if they don't possess proper documents.

The indigenous people of the North-eastern states fear that the entry of these people will endanger their identity and liveli-hood.