Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on March 27 said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam should be reviewed and done afresh.
Speaking to the media after attending a youth programme in Guwahati, Sarma said: “We had said earlier also that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be reviewed and done afresh. Our discussion with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) is going on.”
Earlier on March 24, according to Assam agriculture minister Atul Bora, the state administration has decided to file a petition with the Supreme Court to have the NRC re-verified (that was published in August 2019).
In a report, news agency ANI quoted minister Atul Bora as saying: “The decision was taken during the meeting held with the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) and other indigenous organizations. We won’t accept the list which was published in August 2019. Now we have decided to move the Supreme Court by seeking re-verification.”
On March 24, the Assam government and AASU leadership met to discuss the implementation of the Assam Accord.
On the other hand, AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharjya stated that many illegal Bangladeshi people’s names were included in the previous NRC list, and that they desire an illegal Bangladeshi-free NRC.
“So we want that, re-verification of the list should be made. We have already filed a petition before the Supreme Court by seeking this. We urge both Centre and State that, they should also move the Supreme Court for a correct NRC,” Bhattacharjya had said.
NRC is a register containing names of Indian citizens, which was prepared for the only time in 1951. It is being updated for Assam as of now to weed out illegal immigrants.
