GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said he would write to the central government to include all the people whose names figure in the latest voter list in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being updated in the state.
He said lots of people have failed to establish their linkages with their forefathers, who are citizens of India, through the legacy data and there was apprehension among a section of the people that their names would not be enrolled in the NRC.
"If the electoral roll of 2014 (used during the Lok Sabha polls) is considered as one of the additional documents for enrolling names in the NRC, this problem will be sorted out," Gogoi said, adding that he would write to the central government to consider this.
"I am going to take up the matter with the union home ministry so that they urge the Registrar General of India to accept the 2014 electoral rolls as one of the additional documents...," the chief minister said.
The Assam government has already started the process of updating the NRC 1951 and it is likely to issue the updated NRC by December 2016.
Earlier this week, Gogoi said genuine Indian citizens, whose names figure in the electoral rolls, should be included in the NRC.
Gogoi's statement led to widespread protests in Assam as there was allegation that the electoral roll in Assam was full of names of illegal Bangladeshi citizens, who had been living in the state and it was only because of this the NRC was being updated based on the NRC of 1951.
"The electoral roll is prepared by the Election Commission. If there are names of illegal Bangladeshi citizens in the electoral rolls, it is the responsibility of the EC and not the state government.
"If there are names of illegal Bangladeshis in the electoral rolls, I as well as union minister Sarbananda Sonowal has no right to continue in our positions... as we are elected by illegal Bangladeshi citizens," said Gogoi.
The All Assam Students' Union, which led the anti-foreigners' movement, has settled for March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for deportation of illegal Bangladeshi citizens.