GUWAHATI: Anti-influx organisation, Prabhajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) has alleged that there are glaring discrepancies in the number of people excluded from the complete draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the “migrant dominated” border districts and that the Assam government owes an explanation in this regard.
Addressing media persons here on Monday, PVM convenor, Upamanyu Hazarika said that the exclusion of border district applicants in the draft NRC are totally contrary to the unnatural population growth in these districts over the decades.
“The government needs to give an explanation about the variations and also the fact as to how many will be included in the NRC after claims and objections. A large number of the exclusions are one or two members of the family and the rest have been included,” Hazarika, who is a senior Supreme Court advocate, said.
The Manch convenor said that the figures thrown up by the draft NRC are far short of the official estimate and even the 40, 07077 lakh excluded from the draft NRC is likely to be considerably reduced after the claims and objections period.
Citing statistics, he pointed out that against a state average of 11.59 per cent exclusion of applicants from the draft NRC, the border districts have given figures of exclusion which are far below the state average with Dhubri at 7.49 per cent, Karimganj at 7.49 per cent and South Salmara at 7.49 per cent.
“On the other hand, West Karbi Anglong, a district primarily comprising tribal population has an exclusion rate of 17.4 per cent,” he said.
The decadal growth rate of population in the border districts of Dhubri, Goalpara, Barpeta, Karimganj, Nagaon and Morigaon has been between 21 and 24 per cent for the decades between 1991-2001 and 2001-2011 and 18.9 per cent for 1991-2001, which is above the state average of 16.93 per cent in 2001-2011.
“In this situation there should have been greater vigilance and care in the NRC exercise in the border districts and it is evident that there has been significantly less exclusion in view of the dominance of the migrant population in these districts,” Hazarika said.
“It is important that the sacrifice of lakhs during the Assam Agitation including 855 martyrs is not rendered meaningless and the government should come forward with what they plan to do about this glaring discrepancy,” he added.