New Delhi: "There is a thin line between nationalism and xenophobia," Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted, quoting Rabindranath Tagore, ahead of the publication of the final National Register of Citizens that determines the citizenship of lakhs of people in Assam.
"There is a thin line between nationalism and xenophobia —besides, hatred of the foreigner could later turn into a hatred of Indians different from oneself" — Rabindranath Tagore. The prescience of a great man!" Shashi Tharoor tweeted.
The crucial citizens' list — which was released on Saturday morning — is intended to identify legal residents and weed out illegal immigrants from the north-eastern state that borders Bangladesh.
The Congress on Saturday claimed that many genuine Indian citizens were dropped from the final NRC list irrespective of linguistic and religious lines.
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi held discussions with top party leaders on issues related to the NRC, after the updated final list of the register was released on Saturday.
"The AICC noted that there was sufficient circumstantial evidence to indicate that the 19,06,659 people, who have been excluded from the final NRC, included many genuine Indian citizens, cutting across linguistic and religious lines," a party statement said here.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed concern over 19.07 lakh people being left out of the final NRC list and said "People have been rendered homeless in their own country," senior TMC leader Firhad Hakim said.
The CPI(M) said the exclusion of over 19 lakh people from the NRC in Assam had raised fears of legitimate citizens being left out of the document. In a statement, the Politburo of the Left party said it was important now to ensure that all genuine citizens of the country, who had failed to make it to the list, were included.
Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday accused the ruling BJP of failing to ensure a free and fair NRC even with the entire administrative machinery at its disposal. He further slammed the saffron party for attempting to "hoodwink" the people following the NRC publication.
"I am not happy with the way the NRC has been published with names of genuine Indian citizens left out and foreigners included," he said.
Amnesty International India has appealed to the Assam government to ensure that the Foreigners Tribunals function with utmost transparency. It should function in line with the fair trial standards guaranteed under national and international laws, Akar Patel, Head of Amnesty International India, said in a statement here.