Assam: Home Secy quizzed on CAA protests by Par Panel

Amid mounting protests on Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register for Citizens, a Parliamentary panel headed by senior Congress leader Anand Sharma asked pointed questions to Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla regarding the situation in North Eastern states after implementation of the CAA.

Bhalla, who appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Home, also faced questions about the NRC exercise that was finalised in Assam in August this year.

The panel members will also be visiting the NE region next month to assess the situation on the ground, where massive protests were held this month after the passage of CAA by Parliament last week.

The 31-member panel headed by Sharma could visit Assam before January 26 as it had to postpone its earlier plan of going there this week due to widespread protests in the Assam over the CAA.

A number of panel members asked the home secretary regarding the final list of NRC in Assam released in August this year and sought to know what happened to those citizens missing from the final NRC list despite having identity cards.

Seeking to allay apprehensions on CAA with regard to Northeast and in particular Assam, Bhalla is learnt to have told the panel members that Clause 6 of the Assam Accord will be a part of the rules of the Citizenship Amendment Act.