40 lakh in Assam labelled ‘illegals’ after massive SC-monitored drill

GUWAHATI: After a massive Supreme Court-monitored exercise to identify illegal migrants living in Assam, the Registrar General of India (RGI) on Monday found 40 lakh people ineligible to be included in the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC). This set off strong political reactions with the opposition attacking BJP for trying to divide the people for political gains. Registrar General of India Sailesh said, “This is a draft, we will wait for the final one. Till then, there will be status quo on the rights and privileges (of those not included in NRC).” He added, “There could be several reasons why those people could not substantiate their claims.” On their voting rights, he said, “This is a subject matter of the Election Commission and I am not the competent authority to comment on it.” Speaking on similar lines, MHA joint secretary (northeast) Satyendra Garg added, “No punitive action will be taken against them. We will wait for the final NRC.” The RGI has given one more chance to those who couldn’t make it to the NRC to prove their citizenship. They will have to file claims between August 30 and September 28. The next NRC update will be on December 31. Altogether, 3.29 crore residents of Assam had applied for inclusion in the NRC, which RGI had begun to update in 2010 to detect and deport migrants residing in the country illegally, especially from Bangladesh. The exercise to update the NRC was stopped for some time for various reasons and, later, revived in 2015 under the directive of the Supreme Court. RGI has now given one more opportunity to those who couldn’t make it to the NRC to prove their citizenship. For this, applicants will have to file their claims between August 30 and September 28. Nevertheless, the fundamental rights and privileges they have been enjoying as Indian citizens so far will remain unchanged till the next NRC update, scheduled for December 31. According the an RGI notification, the NRC enumeration process will be completed by December 21, giving only five months to settle claims of 40 lakh applicants. Soon after the publication of the draft, it became clear Assam will find it difficult to bring the process of identifying unauthorised settlers to its logical conclusion. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee described it as a “conspiracy to throw out Bengalis and Biharis” from Assam. In response, Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, relying more on the Supreme Court than anything else, said, “Whatever directives the Supreme Court gives, we will follow and obey.” At home, state Congress president Ripun Bora described the NRC process as a “motivated action” under the BJP, aimed at engaging in “politics of polarisation”. Former chief minister and AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, who was the first to point out to the Centre in 1980 as the leader of the anti-foreigners movement to update the NRC of 1951 to detect illegal immigration, said, “Had it not been for SC, the NRC would have never got updated. Previous Congress governments were not committed to updating it.” Of the 40 lakh people who did not make it to the NRC, 2.48 lakh have been marked as doubtful or ‘D’ voters by the Election Commission. Source: Times of India