SHILLONG: Both the North East Students’ Organisation (NESO) and Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) have reiterated the National Register of Citizens (NRC), exercise should be conducted in Meghalaya and other North Eastern states.
NESO chairman, Samuel Jyrwa on Thursday said that organization was demanding NRC in all the NE states but there has to be a base year depending on the uniqueness and history of each of the North Eastern states
Stating that the Centre has to understand the unique nature of the North Eastern states as all North Eastern states share international boundary with other countries, he added that the Union had already approached the Union Home Ministry and they would once again approach the Ministry over their demands.
Echoing similar views, KSU president, Lambok Marngar too reiterated that NRC should be implemented in Meghalaya while the modalities for its implementation can be different here in the state
“We will follow up the matter with the Government,” he said.
The statement of the NGOs assumes significance as the updated National Register of Citizens for Assam will be published on August 31, 2019.
The Assam government has said it would provide free legal assistance to needy people whose names do not figure in the NRC. Apart from the government, the state’s ruling BJP and opposition Congress have also extended their help to the needy people left out of NRC.
The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a register containing names of all genuine Indian citizens. It was first prepared in 1951.The 1951 NRC list has been updated for Assam, which has had a longstanding foreigner problem, to detect and deport illegal migrants and stop further influx.
The updating process of NRC started in the year 2013 under the strict monitoring and supervision of the Supreme Court of India. On December 31, 2017, a part draft NRC list was released and subsequently on July 30, 2018, the complete draft of NRC was released.
