Panic in Karnataka: State to implement NRC to weed out illegal immigrants

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) led Karnataka government is mulling to implement the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state to drive out illegal immigrants.

The state home minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the government is collecting information on the people from other states and will discuss the matter with the Centre. After Assam, Karnataka is also getting ready for the implementation NRC to identify the illegal immigrants.

The minister on Wednesday told the reporters that already two meetings were held over the state's NRC plan. A lot of people across the border come to Karnataka and settle down when the state itself has a lot of issues. We are collecting all the required information in this regard and will discuss the matter with the Union Home Minister Amit Shah and then go ahead," he said.

Bommai said that many foreigners come to cities like Bengaluru and other cities to pursue their studies and some have settled here. "It has come to our notice that they indulge in crime, and some of them have been arrested as well. We will take a clear decision over the issue this week," he added.

This move by the state government comes after Amit Shah declared that NRC will be executed nationwide to identify the illegal immigrants and deport them. BJP MP from Bengaluru Central, PC Mohan and Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali has also proposed to administer NRC in Karnataka to drive out illegal immigrants.

The Centre had earlier written a reply to the Lok Sabha over the NRC saying that a detention centre for illegal immigrants will come up in Bengaluru. During his visit to Kolkata, Amit Shah had said that Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist refugees will be given Indian citizenship after the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill gets passed in parliament.

3.11 crore applicants had applied for citizenship verification from Assam, where NRC was implemented and 19 lakh people were excluded from the final NRC list published in August this year. And out of the excluded people, 12 lakh are Hindus.