Amit Shah in Mumbai on Monday. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)Amid uncertainty over the fate of more than 19 lakh people excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC), and the BJP’s Assam unit expressing displeasure over the results of the long-drawn process, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to visit Guwahati on September 8 to chair the meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC).
The NEC is the nodal agency for economic and social development of the region.
As part of the meeting, Shah is scheduled to hold discussions with Governors and Chief Ministers of the eight states in the Northeast on a range of issues.
Read | Across Assam, chorus rises among MLAs: NRC is faulty, many genuine citizens out
Although NRC is not among the agenda, the issue of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh will be discussed, sources said.
Other issues on the agenda include implementation of Clause 6 of Assam Accord, repatriation of Bru tribals from Tripura to Mizoram, and issues associated with various development projects in the region.
Sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said Shah will review the progress of various development projects at the NEC meeting, besides taking stock of the security situation in the region. Governors and Chief Ministers of the eight states are members of NEC.
Ahead of the Home Minister’s visit, the MHA on Monday reiterated its earlier statement assuaging fears among those excluded from the NRC. Ministry spokesperson Vasudha Gupta tweeted, “Persons left out of #NRCFinalList NOT to be detained under any circumstance till they exhaust all remedies avl [available] under law. Such persons to continue to enjoy all rights as earlier, like any other citizen, eg. right to employment, education, property etc.”
She also stated that the Assam government has made necessary arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy amongst those excluded from the NRC’s final list, made public on Saturday. These would be provided through the district legal services authorities, Gupta stated.
Read | Assam NRC: Govt acting on Supreme Court directives, says MEA
She said adequate judicial process is available to those left out of the final NRC to appeal to the Foreigners’ Tribunal within 120 days from August 31. “To facilitate appeal, 200 new FTs to be functional from today, in addition to 100 already existing,” she tweeted.
The NRC results have left most people dissatisfied in Assam, and there is much discomfort within the state BJP, which has openly claimed that many genuine citizens have been left out and and many foreigners have been included. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had earlier said that the option of bringing in a legislation was open to the government if questions are raised over the NRC.
Although the NEC is largely focused on development issues concerning the states in the Northeast, sources said issues related to the situation arising out of the final NRC list are likely to be discussed during the visit.
