Delhi has assured Dhaka that people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in Assam would not be deported to Bangladesh. According to a report by The Hindu, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Political Adviser HT Imam made this revelation yesterday.  "Prime Minister Modi has personally assured our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina that those not on the NRC list of Assam would not be sent to Bangladesh in the near future," HT Imam told a global media delegation in Dhaka.

According to the Hindu report, Imam said that Dhaka has also been repeatedly assured on similar lines by other Indian dignitaries, including by the High Commissioner of India in Dhaka Harsh Vardhan Shringla. Imam, however, declined to share the details about

when precisely the Indian leader assured his Bangladesh counterpart. "Assurance was given to our PM. Whatever is happening in Assam regarding the NRC is internal to India. During 1947 large number of people including high profile leaders had migrated to India. It is not possible (to displace people) now," Imam said.

Imam’s remarks come in stark contrast to BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav’s recent comments that people excluded from the final list of Assam NRC would be de-franchised and deported to their country.

Speaking at a seminar on the NRC on September 10, Madhav said, “The NRC will ensure the detection of all illegal immigrants. The next step will be delete - means deletion of names of illegal immigrants from voters list and deprive them from all government benefits. The next stage will be deportation."