STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Seven years after publication of the final list, the ghost of National Register of Citizens (NRC) seems to have come to haunt Assam once again.
With Dispur now opting for a complete revision of the final NRC before the Supreme Court, the issue has seemingly transformed into a contentious topic, sparking a renewed political debate in the state.
And with leading groups and organisations also joining the cacophony, the issue is likely to keep the state's political pot boiling in the coming days, especially since there is no unanimity among the stakeholders over the issue.
While the Government of Assam is ready to knock on the doors of the country's apex court to seek a full revision of the NRC, influential groups like the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) also demanded a review but stopped short of saying whether it wanted a full overhaul or only partial.
Even Dispur had earlier stated that it would seek a revision of 20% of the names included in the final NRC in the state's border areas and 10% in the rest. But now it has changed its mind by seeking a full revision.
Taking an opposite stand, the Congress party has stated that since the final NRC was published in 2019, it should now be implemented.
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) on Friday demanded that the central and state governments clarify the status of the NRC, complete the pending process and issue citizenship identity documents to the 3.11 crore people included in the final list published in 2019. Former MLAs and senior Congress spokespersons Binanda Saikia and Satyabrata Kalita, along with Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress president Mira Borthakur Goswami, questioned the government's silence over the NRC despite the passage of more than seven years since the final list was published on August 31, 2019.
Alleging that the BJP had used the NRC and the issue of illegal foreigners as election promises but subsequently abandoned the matter, Saikia demanded a clear timeline for completing the remaining work. He also claimed that nearly three lakh indigenous people were among those excluded.
Kalita said more than Rs 1,600 crore was spent on the NRC exercise, involving around 55,000 employees, but the process had remained incomplete. He urged the AASU to demand completion of the NRC.
Meanwhile, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hindi, which had already filed a petition in the Supreme Court vis-à-vis NRC, reiterated the demand that since the final NRC had already been published on August 31, 2019, identity cards should now be issued to those whose names have been included.
The organisation similarly sought rejection slips for the approximately 19 lakh individuals whose names were excluded so that they can file appeals before competent authority. The Supreme Court has already sought responses from the state and central governments on the issuance of identity cards and rejection slips.
The Jamiat regretted that even after spending a huge amount of money for conducting a massive NRC exercise in the state, the matter has been kept hanging for the past seven years.
Also Read: Kaziranga Road Mishap Claims Over 20 Lives, VP, PM, and CM Mourn Loss