New Delhi: The Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi, on Sunday asserted that the National Registration of Citizens is not just a document at the moment but it is a base document for the future.
The Chief Justice was speaking at the launch of the book Post-Colonial Assam by Mrinal Talukdar.
Pointing out the criticality of illegal immigration in Assam, Justice Gogoi said the guesswork that is often associated with the influx of illegal migrants has over the years infused political turmoil and instability in the state. He said the recent NRC attempted to bring some degree of certainty on the number of illegal migrants in the state.
“Nineteen lakh or 40 lakh is not the point. But it is a base document for the future. A document on which we can refer to determine future claims. The intrinsic value of the NRC, in my view, is mutual peaceful co-existence. Progressive societies are meant to be inclusive,” he said.
He said the people of Assam displayed large-hardheartedness as they approved various cut-off dates for the NRC.
Hinting at the critics, the CJI rued that the national discourse on the NRC saw the emergence of armchair commentators, who present a distorted picture.
“Armchair commentators and their vile intentions let rumour mills flourish. Assam and its development agenda have been victims of such commentators,” he said.
“The idea of NRC is neither new or novel idea. The first attempt to update the NRC was made in 1951. The current NRC is an exercise to update 1951. Nothing more, nothing less,” he added. The Chief Justice also slammed the people, who used the social media to cast aspersions on the NRC.
“Emergence of social media has fuelled these double-speaking commentators. They launched a motivated tirade at a democratic institution. These commentators and their vile on the initiative (NRC) was far removed from the facts,” he said.
Justice Gogoi said the NRC has left a mark in the social history of Assam.
“But callous reporting by a few media outlets worsened the situation…sinking into cynicism the working of an institution, which was severed by the media, particularly social media. There was mudslinging and personal attacks on the institution and its members, he added. He stressed that people sinking into cynicism through social media have unleashed restrains on the working of the Assam NRC process.
The NRC is a controversial exercise meant to identify illegal immigrants from Bangladesh currently living in Assam, an emotive issue in the state for decades. The Chief Justice headed the bench that monitored the publication of the final NRC in Assam on August 31. The final NRC excluded 1.9 million people and provoked widespread criticism on its process.
Critics said the process adopted included some people who should have been left out and excluded some of those who should have been made a part of it.
Earlier this week, Justice Bobde, who will assume charge as the 47th Chief Justice of India on November 18, after the serving Chief Justice Gogoi retires on November 17, said at a media interaction that social media criticism is tearing apart judges’ reputations.
He also accepted that, at this point, the apex court is unable to do anything to address unbridled criticism on social media platforms.
(With inputs from IANS)
