GUWAHATI: Anti-influx forum, Prabajan Virodhi Manch (PVM) has resented the eleventh-hour reaction of the ruling BJP to “cry foul” over alleged inclusion of large number of foreigners in the National Register of Citizens (NRC), terming the developments a “clear admission of failure” on the part of the party leaders.
In a statement issued here on Wednesday, PVM convener Upamanyu Hazarika said, “With the final NRC publication nearing, the chief minister and the leaders of the ruling party have started blaming all and sundry, particularly the NRC state coordinator for what is evidently going to be an NRC riddled with flaws, which will include a large number of foreigners.”
“The government and the leaders of the ruling party are now trying to shift the blame which squarely rests upon them. Since the beginning of the NRC update process, the BJP has been in power at the Centre as well as the state and all along whenever discrepancies in the process came to light, the government and the leaders were only happy to turn a blind eye,” Hazarika alleged.
The state BJP had addressed the media recently, expressing unhappiness in the NRC update process, alleging the possible inclusion of “foreigners” in the final list which is set for publication on August 31.
“The ruling party leaders are now crying foul over inclusion of large number of foreigners in the NRC saying that remedial measures of exclusion of foreigners from the NRC will be taken by means of new legislation. This is a clear admission of failure on their part of doing nothing at the right time when it was required,” Hazarika said.
“It is the officers and personnel of the state government who were deployed in the NRC process and during the time such personnel were caught red-handed trying to subvert the NRC process, the government did nothing and no proceedings were drawn up against such officers,” he alleged.
The PVM convener further said that the only alternative at this juncture was to ensure that resources such as land, employment and trade licences were reserved for the indigenous people like the other Northeastern states. “This is the only means left now to protect the indigenous identity in Assam,” he said.