NRC jolt for over 19 lakh in Assam

Over 19 lakh applicants in Assam stare at a long and painful ordeal in the halls of foreigner tribunals after they did not make it to the final list of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was released on Saturday morning.

Among those who found their names missing included Ananta Kumar Malo, a sitting MLA from the All India United Democratic Front.

According to reports, family members of two more former Congress MLAs also suffered the same fate.

Over three crore applicants had submitted applications with prescribed documents for inclusion of their names in the updated NRC, work on which began in 2015 and is being monitored by the Supreme Court.

In a statement, NRC state co-ordinator Prateek Hajela said 3,11,21,004 persons figured in the final list. Nearly four lakh applicants, who did not submit their claims after their names were dropped from the draft NRC, were among those left out from the final list, the statement said.

“The entire process of NRC update has been meticulously carried out in an objective and transparent manner. Adequate opportunity of being heard has been given to all persons at every stage of the process. The entire process is conducted as per statutory provisions and due procedure followed at every stage,” said the statement.

But the outcome didn’t please Assam minister and BJP leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, who said the government will again move the Supreme Court for re-verification of the exercise.

“We will again go to the Supreme Court and seek reverification as there are allegations that many foreigners managed to make it to the NRC with manipulation of legacy data and documents like birth certificate,” he said.

The Opposition parties reacted cautiously, with Congress leaders saying they wanted an error-free NRC but the BJP-led government failed to prevent inclusion of foreigners and exclusion of genuine citizens.

For lakhs of people, the updated NRC came as a crushing blow. Having been on tenterhooks for days, they thronged the 2,500 NRC Seva Kendras across Assam or checked their names online only to suffer the shock of their lives for a second time since July 30 last year.

The names of these applicants were dropped as they failed to prove that they or their forefathers lived in Assam on or before March 24, 1971, the cut-off date decided to segregate citizens from “illegal migrants” living in Assam. The cut-off date was fixed in the Assam Accord of 1985 following the six-year-long anti-foreigners movement.

Applicants who missed the final list can now appeal in the foreigner tribunals within 120 days. There are 100 such tribunals in Assam at present and the process is on to set up 400 more for quick disposal of appeals.

Those who lose the legal battle could be declared foreigners, detained and their rights curtailed.