National Register of Citizens (NRC) Final Draft Divides State Congress

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: The Congress in Assam is a divided house on the NRC published on August 31, 2019. A fissure in the party on the NRC has come to light when former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said that if the party does not fight for the correction of the National Register of Citizens, he will fight it alone.

The battle line in the party on National Register of Citizens seems to have been drawn with former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi termed the NRC as a waste paper. Other leaders of the party, on the other hand, have not rejected the NRC, and they are ready to extend legal aid to genuine Indians who have been declared ineligible for inclusion in the NRC.

A few days back former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that he would move the Supreme Court of India seeking review of the NRC. He went on record saying that the National Register of Citizens excluded Hindu Bengalis, Gorkhas, Koch-Rajbongshis, indigenous people, Muslims and others. And Gogoi has already sent a letter to the apex court in this regard.

However, talking to the media later Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Debabrata Saikia said: “The statement on NRC made by former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi was his personal. In accordance with the directive of the AICC (All India Congress Committee) we’re going to extend legal aid to genuine Indians declared ineligible for inclusion in the National Register of Citizens.”

Reacting sharply to the statement made by the CLP leader, Gogoi said on Monday what the CLP leader said on the NRC is also a personal statement. “The official statement of the party in the State must have come from APCC president Ripun Bora. If the party doesn’t fight for correction of the NRC, I’ll fight it alone.”

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