Assam BJP expresses doubts over NRC process

Guwahati, Aug 26 (IANS) Four days ahead of the publication of the NRC, Assam Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Ranjit Kumar Dass here on Monday said the NRC was unlikely to be error-free. Some names of illegal foreigners could be included and genuine Indian citizens excluded, he added.

He said the ruling party was not happy the way the NRC was being updated. "We don't believe the NRC is going to be an error-free document," he said. The NRC would be published on August 31.

Last week, delivering the Independence Day speech, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "the NRC will be a historical document, which will neither include names of illegal foreigners nor it will leave the names of even a single genuine India citizen."

The state BJP chief also criticised NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela and said he was working as per his whims and fancies and that would result in an NRC full of mistakes.

Giving examples, Dass said names of families of martyrs of the Assam movement were excluded in the NRC. "There are suspected foreigners who were involved by the NRC authorities in the NRC updation works. We are told there is no counter verification of documents, submitted by people for inclusion of their names in NRC," Dass said.

Dass' statement assumes significance as the state had been striving since 2013 to update the NRC of 1951 and spent over Rs 1,200 crore on the exercise. Over 55,000 government officials were engaged in the exercise.

Dass said the party would demand a legislation and amendment through the Assembly and Parliament if name of even a single genuine Indian citizen was left out of the NRC.

The BJP president also appealed the party workers as well as the people not to spread any rumour and approach the Foreigner's Tribunal if someone's name was excluded from the NRC.