Congress demands action against 'fake' NRC objections in Assam's Kokrajhar

With resentment brewing among a section of people here over "indiscriminate" notices being served to them by NRC authorities, the Congress has submitted a memorandum to the District Registrar of Citizen's Registration, seeking suspension of the "arbitrary" practice.

In its memorandum, the district Congress committee alleged that minorities were being harassed even after due verification of their documents during the preparation of the complete draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), published last year. The NRC aims to separate "genuine" citizens from "illegal immigrants".

The complete draft of the register, published in July, 2018, had excluded 40.07 lakh names out of the 3.29 crore applicants. A window ending December 31, 2018, was provided for those who wanted to file claims for re-inclusion. Within this same period, people who suspected that foreigners have made their way to the list were also allowed to file their objections. The final list is slated to be released by July 31.

The Congress memorandum claimed that "fictitious" persons with ulterior motive were raising complaints and objections, based on which the authorities were issuing notices to "genuine" citizens. The complainants do not appear before the authorities during the time of hearing of their pleas, it alleged. "It is not even clear whether the complainants have an application receipt number or detailed address," it stated.

The memorandum, a copy of which was sent to NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela, also sought "immediate steps against the illegal and arbitrary process adopted by some Local Register of Citizens Registers of Kokrajhar district". The party 'demanded "appropriate action against "unscrupulous complainants". Several organisations have come out in protest against the alleged harassment being meted out to the minorities, as part of the claims and objection verification process.

The ts All Bodo Minority Student Union (ABMSU) has threatened to move court against the "fabricated objections". Abu Sayed Ansari, the president of ABMSU-BTAD unit, said, "If the complainants do not withdraw the objections immediately, we will move the court against them."

Echoing similar sentiment, Gopal Ghosh, the zonal committee president of the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation, said, "If no steps are taken to stop this arbitrary practice, we will launch a democratic movement." The Supreme Court had last year restrained NRC authorities from talking to the press on this politically charged issue, without its approval.

-PTI