Will move Supreme Court For Correction of NRC: Tarun Gogoi

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI: Stating that the NRC update has not been as per the directive of the Supreme Court of India, former State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said that he is going to move the apex court with a petition, seeking correction of, what he said, the erroneous NRC.

Addressing a press meet in his official residence at Ministers’ Colony at Dispur on Tuesday, Gogoi said, “I’ll file a petition before the Supreme Court and raise a question – has the NRC been updated as per the directive of the apex court? I say that the NRC hasn’t been updated in accordance with the SC directive.”

Addressing Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi at the press meet, the former Chief Minister said, “You should review if the NRC has been updated as per your directive or not. Because your name is involved in the NRC update process. Are you satisfied with the updated NRC or not?”

Gogoi said: “The Supreme Court of India has only issued directives for NRC update. It’s not the implementing authority. The implementing authorities are the Central and the State governments. According to my assessment, the NRC has errors. Such errors have to be corrected. Majority of Hindu Bengalis, indigenous people of the State, Gorkhas, Hindi-speakers, Christians, tribal, Muslims and others have been excluded from the NRC. This is the reason why there have been resentments and protests against the NRC all over. For mistakes on the part of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lakhs of Indians have been shown as foreigners. They failed to get the task entrusted to them well accomplished with the deputy commissioners. Now the government wants to send all these Indians to the foreigners tribunals (FTs). So long they aren’t declared foreigners, why should they go to the FTs? Whose mistake, negligence and callousness have turned lakhs of Indians foreigners? Including State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, will the officials involved in NRC update works be punished?”

Targeting the Centre, Gogoi said: “Now Union Home Minister Amit Shah is silent. When the draft NRC was published he was on record saying that 40 lakh foreingers had been identified in Assam. After the publication of the final NRC, what will Shah claim – credit or discredit? I feel he should claim the discredit. Let the MHA form an appellate authority to correct the NRC.”

Gogoi further said: “After its publication, now the government says that it knows nothing about NRC update. How can they say this? Doesn’t the government have any intelligence network? Besides the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, the deputy commissioners were there. Now minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has reacted to the NRC. Strangely enough, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal is silent on the issue. Since the Chief Minister himself is the Home Minister, the reaction should have come from him. Himanta Biswa Sarma isn’t the Home Minister. On this count, I condemn the Chief Minister.”

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