GUWAHATI: The waiting was finally over as the complete draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) has been published in Assam at 10 A.M on Monday with total 2,89,83,677 names included in the list out of the total applicants of 3,29,91,384 . That leaves 40,07, 707 applicants out of the final draft NRC.
Formally making the document public, the Registrar General of India (RGI) Sailesh, who was flanked by Union Home Secretary (N-E) Styendra Garg and NRC state coordinator, Prateek Hajelsa, said, “It is a historic day in the country and Assam towards fulfillment of a major milestone of publishing the complete draft NRC under the monitoring of the Supreme Court of India.”
The RGI informed that those whose names did not appear in the complete draft NRC had no reason to worry as they would get ample opportunity to submit claims and objections to get their name enlisted in the final NRC.
“I will like to make it clear that it is a complete draft NRC and not the final NRC. There will be plenty of scope for filing claims and objections and process for it will begin on August 30. No genuine Indian citizens who has been left out, should not worry at all. The NRC state coordinator will launch an intensive information campaign in this regard to help people who lacks sufficient knowledge to file their claims and objectives,” Sailesh said.
Union Home Secretary (N-E), Styendra Garg said, “The published document should be treated as a draft document, not the final NRC. The process has staged the draft stage today. I will like to reiterate the Government of India’s stand that no person whose name has not figured in the NRC draft could be referred to Foreigners’ Tribunals or sent to detention camps.”
Garg further said Government of India would closely monitor the law and order situation in the state in the aftermath of the publication of the complete draft of the updated NRC and any quarter trying to create trouble over the draft NRC issue would dealt with sternly as per the law of the land.
The state coordinator of the NRC, Prateek Hajela said that those people whose names were there in the first draft of NRC published in December 31, 2017, but had failed to make it to the final draft of the NRC will get opportunity to file claims and objection during August 7 to September 28 this year. He said that reasons for rejection of any person from the final draft would not be made public and would be intimated to the persons concerned personally.
The state coordinator and the RGI, however, did not specify any date for publication of the final NRC as it would depend of the time to be taken to dispose of claims and objections as well as the directive from the Supreme Court.
The NRC updating process was initiated way back in December 2013 and process of receiving applications started in 2015. Over 55, 000 government officials besides technical staff were involved in the process of updating of NRC of 1951 in Assam with March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court of India.
The NRC in Assam is being updated in view of the burning problem of illegal migration from Bangladesh so that it becomes easier to differentiate between genuine Indian citizens and illegal migrants who had sneaked into the state after March 24, 1971 which is the cut-off date mentioned in Assam Cord for detection of illegal migrants.
The NRC authority has facilitated people to check their names in the final draft NRC in at least three websites, through SMS and phone.