GUWAHATI: The Centre and the Assam government’s applications in the Supreme Court seeking the extension of July 31 deadline for publication of final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) evoked mixed reactions in the state.
Both centre and the state government suspect that the names of many people, living particularly in the districts bordering Bangladesh, were wrongfully included in the complete draft of the NRC. The SC will take a call on the issue of extension of the deadline on Tuesday.
The Assam Public Works (APW), which had earlier filed a petition in the SC on the issue of illegal migration in Assam, welcomed the move of the Centre and the Assam government. “Re-verification is of paramount importance if we want to have a document that is free from error. There is a strong possibility that the names of several illegal immigrants have already made into the NRC complete draft,” APW president Abhijit Sarma said.
He said over the past few months, some government officials, engaged in the updation of NRC, were arrested for alleged wrongdoing during the exercise. “As there is suspicion that the names of illegal immigrants in the draft NRC were included, it is imperative that the government verifies their citizenship documents which were earlier checked by the accused government officials,” Sarma said.
ALSO READ | Students’ body in Assam demands constitutional safeguards for locals ahead of final NRC draft
The All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) said it had complete faith in the SC. “The NRC is being updated under the direct monitoring of the SC. We hope whatever order the court passes, it will be in the best interest of Assam. We have full faith in the court,” AASU advisor Samujjal Bhattacharya, said.
However, the All Assam Minority Students’ Union is opposed to any extension of the NRC final draft deadline. It accused the Centre and the Assam government of deliberately delaying the process. “It is apparent from their move that they do not want the NRC final draft to be published. The documents of applicants have been already verified and re-verified and hence, there is no need to verify them yet again,” the students’ body insisted.