Guwahati Diary | NGO disputes CM’s statement on NRC
Assam Public Works (APW), an NGO and one of the main petitioners for the updation of National Register of Citizens (NRC), disputed Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s statement that the BJP government requested the Supreme Court to allow it to carry out the re-verification of documents covering 20% of people living along the Bangladesh border. “It’s been five years but the BJP governments in the state and at the Centre have not submitted any affidavit in the SC seeking the re-verification of NRC documents. This government will not do any NRC-related work,” APW chief Abhijit Sarma said.
BJP in Assam has 50 lakh members
The BJP now has 50 lakh members in Assam, the party said. BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh said the party achieved the milestone in the ongoing membership drive. “Assam has become the fourth state after Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat to achieve this milestone,” Santhosh said, applauding the state leaders. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the BJP’s total membership in Assam in 2019 was around 19 lakh. “This growth is massive. Moving forward, our goal is to secure 40,000 members per Assembly constituency,” he said.
Frisking of school bags made mandatory
The Kamrup (Metro) district administration issued an order asking schools, both state-run and private, in the district to frisk the bags and pockets of students before the commencement of classes and if any arms, weapons, sharp objects or any toxic products like liquid, gutka, tobacco, cigarette etc or any other objectionable items are found, they should be seized and the parents informed. The schools were asked to treat the matter seriously. The order was issued in the light of a recent incident at the Padum Pukhuri School in the Darrang district in which a Class 9 student lost his life in school after he was assaulted by a schoolmate.
Prasanta mazumdar
Our correspondent in Guwahati
prasantamazumdar@newindianexpress.com