Hoist tricolour to prove your 'Indianness', NRC application isn't enough: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma asked all the residents of Assam to hoist the national flag at their houses during the Independence Day week to prove that they are the 'real children of Mother India' while stressing that merely applying for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is not enough to prove one's citizenship.

Addressing an event on Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said, "No one should forget to hoist the tricolour from August 13 to August 15. Applying for inclusion in NRC as an Indian citizen isn’t enough. Only by unfurling the national flag one can prove they are true children of Bharat Mata."

“There are some who say that inclusion of their names in NRC will prove they are Indians. While inclusion in that list may legally prove you are an Indian. But unfurling of the national flag and considering India as your motherland will show one’s sentimental attachment to India,” said Sharma.

He also encouraged the public to get the tricolour from the "nearest ration shops" and said they will cost Rs. 16 each.

Sharma was inaugurating a 25MW solar power plant at Udalguri district when he made this statement.

The BJP-led Assam government is planning to have 80 lakh tricolours hoisted by residents across the state on the occasion of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating completion of 75 years of India’s Independence.

"The idea behind the initiative is to invoke the feeling of patriotism in the hearts of the people and promote awareness about our national flag, " he said.

The NRC which was updated in 2019 under Supreme Court’s supervision in a bid to remove so-called illegal citizens in Assam left out 1.9million applicants.