Former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said the BJP was trying to use the citizenship issue as a "political weapon" for the upcoming elections.

Gogoi's comments come a week after 40 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam were left out of the complete draft of National Register of Citizens (NRC). "BJP is trying to trigger a bloodbath in Barak and Brahmaputra valleys by removing 40 lakh applicants and use NRC as a political weapon in upcoming elections," Gogoi told media here.