Let Sonowal Take the Lead to File Objections Against illegal Foreigners: AASU

Let Sonowal Take the Lead to File Objections Against illegal Foreigners: AASU

GUWAHATI: A day after the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) said lodging objections against doubtful citizens figuring in the complete draft NRC is fraught with risk, the influential students’ organization along 30 other ethnic organizations on Friday exhorted Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to take the lead in filing objections by his government so that publication of an illegal foreigners free final NRC could be made possible.

AASU chief advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya told reporters here on Friday afternoon even though many people are willing to lodge objections, they are not coming forward as filing an objection in many areas dominated by people of doubtful citizens in Assam is fraught with the risk of life.

“Many people, who are willing to lodge objections against wrongful inclusion of foreigners in the complete draft NRC, have contacted us. They say that they daren’t file such objections by physically visiting their respective NRC seva kendras. Under such circumstances the AASU and 30 other ethnic organizations have demanded the State Government and NRC authority to relax the objection filing rules and enable the people to file objections at the headquarters of the district without any fear and apprehension,” Bhattacharjya said.

Bhattacharjya said if the State Government cannot concede to the demand of AASU and 30 other organizations, the chief minister must own the responsibility of filing objections by his government as per the rule 4.3 of the Citizenship Act as well as guidelines of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) approved by the Supreme Court. Under the Citizenship Act and SOP, the government can file objections against doubtful citizens.

While asserting that the final NRC must not include the name of a single illegal foreigner, the leaders of AASU and 30 ethnic organizations at the same time said names of many indigenous people of Assam including Assamese Muslims and the people who came to Assam prior to March 25, 1971 are missing in the complete draft NRC. The AASU and 30 ethnic organizations will help these indigenous people in all possible ways to enrol their names in the final NRC.

AASU president Dipanko Kumar Nath said the AASU and other ethnic organizations (now 30) which have been spearheading a movement for an illegal foreigner-free NRC, will stage the demonstration in front of the Parliament during its coming winter session for the same demand. The organizations will also raise the demand for scrapping of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, he said.

AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary of All Assam Tribal Sangha Aditya Khakhlari said it seems that the present regime in Dispur is reluctant to make an error-free NRC. “Promptness and alertness that the BJP-led Government in Dispur should have shown to make an error-free NRC are unfortunately missing,” Khakhlari said.

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