Waiting for SC permission to start fresh NRC updation:Himanta

The Assam government is waiting forthe permission of the Supreme Court to initiate a fresh driveto update National Register of Citizens (NRC), Health,Education and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said onWednesday.

The state NRC Coordinator has already submitted ''a verygood affidavit'' in the Gauhati High Court highlighting why weneed a fresh update of the NRC, the minister said at a pressconference here.

The updation will ''mainly depend on the Supreme Courtpermission'', Sarma said.

The final NRC was published on August 31, 2019 by excluding19,06,657 persons with a total of 3,11,21,004 names includedout of the 3,30,27,661 applicants.

After publication of the final NRC, almost all thestakeholders and political parties had criticised it as afaulty document citing many cases of exclusion of indigenouspeople and inclusion of illegal migrants.

Sarma said in Assam there are two types of Muslims- theindigenous or Assamese Muslims and the migrants or 'miya'Muslims- with the former inextricably linked with the cultureand traditions of the state while to determine the status ofthe latter, ''the NRC is not yet done properly''.

The Supreme Court had on January 29 last issued notice tothe Assam NRC State Coordinator, Hitesh Dev Sarma, on a pleaseeking directions issued by him for unilaterally deletingnames from the final NRC.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde heardthe submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appearedon behalf of the petitioners, Jamaat-e-Ulema and All AssamMinorities Students Union (AAMSU), and issued the notice.

The petitioners sought intervention of the court againstthe directions/communications sent by Sarma to all the DeputyCommissioners and District Registrars of Citizen Registrationin Assam, directing deletion of ineligible person along withtheir descendants,who had already been included in the finalNRC draft which was prepared under constant monitoring of theapex court.

With the state assembly elections only months away, theminister attacked the Congress, accusing it of dividing Assamin many ways and bringing the level of political debate to a''very low level''.

''They have no issues to focus upon and are making uselessstatements on which there can be no debate. They no longerraise the issues of NRC or implementation of clause six of theAssam Accord'', he said.

The peoples' mood ahead of the polls can be guaged from thehuge turnout at the various meetings that are being held bythe BJP leaders at different places in the state, he said.

''During the last six months and even during the COVID-19situation, we have taken up so many developmental works thatpeople are happy with what the BJP has done in the state'',Sarma claimed.

A politician should never hesitate to go to the people and''just like Sachin Tendulkar was liked for the runs he scored,we are liked by the people when we go to them'', he saidexuding confidence before elections expected in March-April.

He said that the BJP government has done development workin all areas of the state, including in the Muslims dominatedareas where ''we know people will not vote for us''.

''We will continue with our development works in all areasand may be when education, health and other schemes reachthese areas, the communal element or religious intolerancewill decrease but this will take time'', he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)