Our Correspondent
KOKRAJHAR: The All BTC Minority Student’s Union (ABMSU), Kokrajhar district committee demanded a free and fair NRC and submitted a memorandum through the Deputy Commissioner of Kokrajhar on Wednesday. Jaidul Islam and Amir Ali, president and secretary of the ABMSU, Kokrajhar district committee, said that on September 5, Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman heard the writ petition (Civil) No. 274/2009, filed by Assam Public Works (APW) and said that they had read and considered the report of the NRC State coordinator with regard to preparation of the modalities of the Standard Operating Procedure to deal with claims and objections. The report stated that 10 documents out of list ‘A’ documents could be relied upon/ introduced afresh by any claimant following his/her claim for inclusion in the NRC, subject to the authenticity of the documents being certified by the relevant issuing authority.
As per the order of the Supreme Court, five documents - extract of NRC 1951, voters’ list up to 1971, citizenship certificates and refugee certificates -will not be admissible for inclusion of a name in the updated NRC during claim applications and as supporting documents, ration card issued by the competent authority with official seal and signature up to March 24, 1971 will be allowed.
The ABMSU leaders said that this was a violation of NRC rules and such a step would jeopardize the entire process of updating the NRC, adding that the NRC of 1951 and the voters’ list up to March 24, 1971 were the primary pillars of NRC of Assam. They demanded that all the 15 core documents in list ‘A’ of the modalities must be kept intact.
The ABMSU leaders said that people whose names were not included in the final draft NRC have been directed to file an application before their respective Nagarik Seva Kendras (NSK) for knowing the reason for which their names were not included in the final draft NRC. “Many people dropped from the draft NRC are poor, illiterate and unaware about the law as well as legal procedure. Hence, asking such people to fill the application form to know the reason for exclusion is unreasonable and unjustified,” they said. The ABMSU said the names of persons already cleared in family tree verification, office verification and combined verification report, including DMIT, should be included in the final NRC.