Governments priority on NRC, asserts CM

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, July 18: Fielding charges by some MLAs that engaging employees and teachers in the NRC update exercise has affected functioning in offices and schools, Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal asserted today that the NRC project is the government's top priority and some sacrifices have to be made for it.

During Question Hour at the State Assembly, Sonowal said the government cannot allow the exercise to slow down.

Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said arrangements will be made to ensure that classes are not affected because teachers have been engaged in the exercise. "We will also see that teachers from single-teacher schools engaged in the exercise are relieved," Sarma said. Replying to a question on behalf of the Home minister, Parliamentary Affairs minister Chandra Mohan Patwary said 6.6 crore documents submitted by NRC applicants are being currently verified.

"This will take some time," Patwary said, adding that the Supreme Court monitoring the exercise has not set any time-frame for its completion.

To a query by MLA Sherman Ali  that Foreigners Tribuls are not accepting documents submitted by NRC applicants as evidence, Patwary said the process is on to verify the documents, and before the authenticity of the documents is established, these can't be considered as authentic.