NRC must be brought out at national level: Ranjit Kumar Das

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: “We demand that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be brought out at the national level. We are not at all satisfied with results of the final NRC,” stated BJP State president Ranjit Kumar Das while addressing the media at the party’s head office — Atal Behari Vajpayee Bhawan — at Hengerabari here on Saturday.

The BJP State president also alleged that “the NRC does not have names of many Indian citizens hailing from other States but living in Assam. Hence, we demand the NRC should be carried out at the national level. Then names of all Indians will be included in the NRC of the country.”

The BJP leader further demanded that “an Act should be brought into existence to include names of all Indians who could not produce valid documents during the NRC updation process in the State.”

Elaborating on the dissatisfaction of the party over the NRC, the BJP leader said, “The final NRC will not protect the Indians living in Assam insofar as their socio-economic and political future are concerned.”

Eluding to the number of people left out of the final NRC, Ranjit Kumar Das stated, “Once then State Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia had pointed to the presence of about 30 lakh foreigners in the State. The then Union Minister of State for Home Sriprakash Jaiswal also alleged that approximately 50 lakh Bangladeshis had entered Assam. Then Union Home Minister Indrajit Gupta said that about 42 lakh foreigners were in Assam. Former State Governor Lt Gen (retd) SK Singh also pointed to the about 30 lakh Bangladeshis staying illegally in Assam.

“However now, the final NRC has not listed about 19 lakh of people as foreigners. So, what has actually happened to the huge number of foreigners that were believed to be in Assam?

“During discussions on the NRC data in our office, we found that not less than 2 lakh indigenous people of Assam have not been listed in the citizens register. On the other hand, 4 lakh indigenous people of the State have not applied for inclusion of their names in the NRC. Against this backdrop, we have doubts about the veracity of the final NRC that has been come out today.”

Dass further said, “We demanded that five personal documents including the migration certificate and all refugee cards be accepted. But the NRC authority said that those documents could not be authenticated, and refused to entertain our demand. As a result, names of those people who had entered Assam after 1971 were missing from the NRC. On the other hand, many have had their names included in the NRC by using forged personal documents. The State government never had such papers authenticated.”

Also Read: BJP To Admit Leaders Only From Bodoland Areas Now: Ranjit Kumar Das

Also Watch: BJP (Assam Pradesh) Press Meet in Guwahati