Guwahati (Assam) [India], October 3 (ANI): Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday mounted a fierce attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central and state governments, raising grave concerns over the autonomy of the Election Commission, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process, widespread eviction drives, and alleged fake encounters in Assam.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan in Guwahati, Khurshid alleged that recent internal decisions in the Election Commission were made unilaterally by the Chief Election Commissioner by overriding the dissent of two fellow commissioners—a matter currently pending before the Supreme Court.
Quoting Rahul Gandhi, Khurshid said, "No matter how high a constitutional position you hold, no one is above the law; everyone must remain accountable before the law."
Targeting the BJP’s candidate for the upcoming assembly by-election and former District Commissioner Devashish Sharma, the senior jurist accused him of taking arbitrary decisions to deport legitimate citizens for political expediency.
"The courts have also questioned the current status of two women expelled to Bangladesh due to such decisions. Tragically, the ruling party has nominated such an official," Khurshid said, contrasting him with Congress candidate and former MLA Sibamoni Bora, whom he credited with transparent public service.
Turning to the NRC, Khurshid recalled that the process was initiated under late Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi based on the Assam Accord with 1971 as the cut-off year. He highlighted that despite the Supreme Court-monitored final list published in 2019, 3.11 crore included individuals are yet to receive National Identity Cards under Rule 13, while over 19 lakh excluded people await mandatory rejection slips to file appeals. He cautioned that any unilateral attempt to tamper with the NRC would amount to contempt of the apex court's directives.
Khurshid also expressed sharp indignation over eviction drives across Assam, citing recent operations in Goalpara, Golaghat, the Rengma Reserve Forest, and the September 2024 eviction in Sonapur’s Kachutoli, where two individuals died in police firing.
"Demolishing homes and evicting people is sheer cruelty, but snatching away their voting rights and stripping them of their citizenship thereafter is the ultimate blow to democracy," he said, asserting that denying displaced individuals voter registration at relocated sites violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
On the issue of law and order, the Congress leader highlighted data placed before the courts, stating that 171 police encounters took place in Assam between May 2021 and August 2022, resulting in 56 deaths, 4 custodial deaths, and 145 injuries. He stressed that extrajudicial killings have no place in a civilised society governed by the rule of law.
He further flagged remarks regarding pushbacks into Bangladesh without due process, referencing assembly data showing 3,697 deportations over the past two years without formal notices.
Addressing the broader national political scenario, Khurshid invoked former US President John F. Kennedy while discussing unity within the INDIA bloc, stating, "Rather than asking what the alliance can do for us, every leader today needs to realise what they can contribute to the alliance."
He also dismissed the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) as a "diversionary tactic," stating that such a code cannot be imposed arbitrarily without considering the rulings of the Supreme Court’s nine-judge bench and the country's diverse cultural fabric.
Earlier in the briefing, Khurshid paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri on their birth anniversaries and congratulated Assam boxer Lovlina Borgohain for winning a gold medal at the Asian Games. Senior Congress leaders, including former MP Abdul Khaleque and former MLA Diganta Barman, were also present at the press meet. (ANI)
"Stripping evicted people of their voting rights is unconstitutional": Salman Khurshid
