SHILLONG: The North East Students Organisation (NESO) and its constituent Khasi Students Union on Thursday reiterated their demand for preparation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Meghalaya and other Northeastern states as Assam prepared for publication of the updated list for the state on August 31.
NESO chairman Samuel Jyrwa said that the organisation is demanding NRC in all the Northeastern states but the base year would depend on the uniqueness and history of each.
Stating that the Centre has to understand the unique nature of the Northeastern states as all of them share international boundaries, he said that NESO had already approached the Union Home Ministry in this regard and would do so again.
Echoing Jyrwa, KSU president Lambok Marngar said that NRC should be prepared for Meghalaya as well but the modalities could be different.
“We will follow up the matter with the government,” he said.
There is an apprehension among Northeastern states that they could be faced with an influx of those left out of the NRC in Assam.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) prepared only for Assam in 1951 lists Indian citizens. It is being updated for the first time in view of the problem of illegal immigration the state has faced since then.
The process started in 2013 under the strict monitoring and supervision of the Supreme Court of India. A draft NRC was released on July 30, 2018 while the final list will be published on August 31.
