40 lakh in Assam disenfranchised

NRC says people who are left out can appeal

A massive Supreme Courtmonitored exercise to identify genuine Indian nationals living in Assam on Monday excluded over 40 lakh people from the final draft list, triggering a political slugfest with the Opposition alleging that it was the BJP’s “game plan” to divide the people for electoral gains.

The issue rocked both the houses of Parliament after which home minister Rajnath Singh appealed to the Opposition not to politicise the “sensitive” matter as the list has been published on the directives of the Supreme Court and the Centre has “no role” in it.

Earlier, the Registrar General of India Mr Sailesh in Guwahati published the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in which names of 2,89,83,677 out of 3,29,91,384 applicants were included.

The names of 40,07,707 applicants could not find place in the historic documents for various reasons.

Mr Sailesh said that the NRC directorate would inform each and every applicant about the specific reason for non-inclusion of their names. He said, “The process for making claims and objections will begin on August 30 and continue till September 28.

A massive Supreme Courtmonitored exercise to identify genuine Indian nationals living in Assam on Monday excluded over 40 lakh people from the final draft list, triggering a political slugfest with the Opposition alleging that it was the BJP’s “gameplan” to divide the people for electoral gains.

As pandemonium over non-inclusion of 40 lakh citizens of Assam in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) led to repeated adjournments in Rajya Sabha with lawmakers from the Trinamul disrupting proceedings, Home Minister Rajnath Singh in Lok Sabha said on Monday that the draft NRC for the state is completely “impartial” and those whose names are not included should not panic as they will get an opportunity to prove their Indian citizenship.

Unsatisfied with the Home Minister’s response, an unrelenting opposition staged a walkout from Lok Sabha.

Soon after, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Centre, accusing it of resorting to “vote bank politics”. “This divide and rule policy will finish the country,” she said at a press conference in Kolkata, alleging it was a “gameplan” to isolate and “throw out of the state” Bengali speaking people and Biharis.

Banerjee also claimed that names of people who have passports, Aadhaar and voter cards have also been excluded from the final draft.

Notwithstanding the criticism, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said it was a historic day for the state, which will abide by all the directions of the apex court.

With several MPs from Trinamul, Congress and the Left parties echoing concerns in Lok Sabha also on the NRC issue and the Congress demanding an all party meeting, Mr Singh said, “no coercive action will be taken against anyone. Hence, there is no need for anyone to panic. This is a draft and not the final list.”

The home minister’s reaction came after the draft NRC was published with the names of about 40 lakh residents of the state not being included.

Even someone whose name is not in the final list can approach the foreigners tribunal, the Home Minister said, adding that only after the disposal of claims and objections, the final NRC will be published.

“Some people are unnecessarily trying to create an atmosphere of fear. I want to assure all that there is no need for any apprehension or fear. Some misinformation is also being spread. The NRC process has been done impartially,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress questioned the non-inclusion of over 40 lakh people in the complete draft of the NRC and alleged it was a “motivated” action by the BJP which was trying to play “politics of polarisation”.

Meanwhile, informing that NRC directorate would inform each and every applicant about the specific reasons for noninclusion of their names to over 40 lakh applicants whose name could not be included, Registrar General of India Sailesh told reporters, “This is a historic day for India and Assam. The exercise is unparalleled in size. It is a legal process done under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court.”

Asserting that the exercise was carried out in a transparent, fair, objective manner, he said, “People, whose name could not find place in the final draft need not to worry. They will be given ample opportunity to prove their claim. No genuine Indian citizen should have any fear.”

To a question about the fate of those left out in the final draft NRC, the state coordinator of NRC Mr Prateek Hajela said, "We consider them as applicants. Each of them will be sent letters individually for the next step. We are trying to tell them they might have missed out because of some reasons such as unsubstantiated documents.”