Picture credit: NRC website

New Delhi on Thursday reiterated that the NRC issue of Assam would not affect the Indo-Bangla relation.

Indiaโ€™s foreign ministry has said that New Delhi has been in close touch with Dhaka both prior to and following the issuance of the draft Assam National Register of Citizens list.

โ€œWe have assured them (Bangladesh) that it is still a draft list prepared under orders of Supreme Court and process of identification of citizens of Assam is still underway,โ€ MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

Of the 3.29 crore applications received by the authority compiling NRC, the names of around 40 lakh people in Assam havenโ€™t been included in the second draft.

The MEA said the draft NRC list will not impact Indiaโ€™s โ€˜excellentโ€™ relationship with Bangaldesh. โ€œThe Bangladesh government has taken the view that the ongoing process is an internal matter of India,โ€ Kumar said.

The message was earlier intimated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to his Bangladesh counterpart.

Ever since the second NRC list was published on July 30 a huge political debate had erupted in India with different political parties putting their own agenda.