From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: The Forum Against Citizenship Act Amendment Bill (FACAAB) has said that it was against the Centre’s move to bring about another National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam along with the pan-India citizen’s register, which, according to it, would be “based on the population census”.
Former Assam DGP and FACAAB member Harekrishna Deka said that the recently published NRC in Assam was Supreme Court-monitored and was prepared in an unbiased and transparent manner.
“We have 200 foreigners’ tribunals through which errors, if there are any, in the NRC could be corrected. But what we fear is the Centre’s intention to bring in another NRC based on the population census, which will be prepared secretly,” Deka told reporters here on Saturday.
“Even if an RTI is done, we cannot verify how people’s names will be included in the register. We cannot accept such a population register which intends to give refuge to people of a particular religion,” Deka said.
Echoing the former DGP, FACAAB chairman Hiren Gohain said the move by the Centre to announce that another NRC would be prepared for Assam, was “absurd, arbitrary and unlawful” and, therefore, cannot be accepted by the people of the state.
“Therefore, the NRC that was published in Assam in August 31 would have to stay. We are against scrapping of the citizens’ register to give way to a population register while coming out with a pan-India NRC,” Gohain said.