Sitting, former Assam MLAs flunk NRC test

Guwahati, Aug 31 (IANS) Some prominent faces of Assam are among the 1.9 million who have also flunked the citizenship test.

Among them are Ananta Kumar Malo, a sitting All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA from Abhayapuri South constituency, and former AIUDF legislator Ataur Rahman Mazharbhuyan who represented the Katigora constituency in the Assembly between 2006 and 2011.

"I and my brother filed the same data. But while the NRC document included my brother's name, my name was excluded," said Malo and added, he would soon approach the Foreigners' Tribunal.

Stating that his is just an example of how people are excluded from the NRC, Malo said, "There are some problems with the system, otherwise how can they exclude my name."

Mazharbhuyan also expressed shock on not finding his, his two daughters and a son's name in the NRC. "The draft NRC included my entire family, but for me, two daughters and the son. As we received summons, we went to the NRC Seva Kendra and submitted all the relevant documents," he said.

"We were expecting to see our names in the NRC. Who should I blame to? There is no point blaming anyone but to follow the process laid down to correct the same," he said and added, they would soon approach the Foreigners' Tribunals to rectify the mistake.

Authorities on Saturday published the final NRC list, which excluded 19,06,657 and included 3,11,21,004 persons in the final document.

The government has, however, stated that those excluded from the list would neither be arrested not declared foreigners. The excluded people would have to approach the Foreigners' Tribunal to prove their citizenship. They can move higher courts later if not satisfied with the tribunal's verdict, it said.