We Want an Error-free NRC, Says All Assam Students Union (AASU)

STAFF REPORTER GUWAHATI:

Just a day after newly elected Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma spoke about re-verification of the much-disputed NRC (National Register of Citizens), Dipanka Kumar Nath, president of All Assam Students Union (AASU), said that all they want is an "error-free NRC".

"All we want is an error-free NRC. We have already filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking re-verification of the NRC," Nath said talking to The Sentinel.

Asked about CM Himanta Biswa Sarma's statement on Monday when he said that his government would go ahead with re-verification of 20% of the list in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10% re-verification in other districts, Nath said that this formula no longer holds good. This formula of 20% and 10% has long passed by.

Elaborating on what the AASU wants, Nath said that they want the formula that they had mentioned in their petition filed with the Supreme Court to be followed when the re-verification of NRC is done.

The AASU in its petition had mentioned that 1.89 crore people were included in the NRC under the Original Inhabitant (OI) category. All those people included in the NRC other than the OI category should be re-examined.

Nath further said that if there are any doubts about the 1.89 crore people included in the NRC under the OI category, then the credentials of those people too should be reverified.

The AASU filed the petition pleading re-verification of the NRC with the Supreme Court in October 2019 soon after the NRC was published. The NRC was published on August 31, 2019. As many as 3.11 crore people were included in the citizens' list and 19.07 lakh people were left out.

The AASU has since then been maintaining that there are discrepancies in the NRC and it is not a complete one. The students' body is a signatory of the Assam Accord of 1985 that provided for "detection, deletion and deportation" of illegal foreigners from Assam.

The NRC updation process was done under the supervision of the Supreme Court to prepare a list of all genuine Indian nationals living in Assam.

The decision for the updation of the 1950 NRC was taken on May 5, 2005.

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