CM Himanta Sarma Calls For Fresh NRC As State Govt Holds Discussion With AASU Over Assam Accord

Notably, a meeting was held between the Assam government and AASU leadership on the implementation of the Assam Accord last week. 

File Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be reviewed.

"We had said earlier also that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be reviewed and done afresh. Our discussion with the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) is going on," Himanta Sarma told the media persons in Guwahati after attending a youth programme, as reported by news agency ANI.

Assam Agriculture Minister Atul Bora had last week said that the state government has decided to move Supreme Court seeking re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (that was published in 2019 August).

Talking to ANI, Atul Bora had said, "The decision was taken during the meeting held with the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) and other indigenous organisations. We won't accept the list of NRC which was published in August 2019. Now we have decided to move the Supreme Court by seeking re-verification."

Notably, a meeting was held between the Assam government and AASU leadership on the implementation of the Assam Accord last week. 

Samujjal Bhattacharya, Advisor of AASU, had said that many illegal Bangladeshi people's names were included in the last list of NRC as he sought for them to be removed, ANI reported.

"So we want that, re-verification of the NRC list should be made. We have already filed a petition before the Supreme Court by seeking this. We urge both Centre and State that, they should also move the Supreme Court for a correct NRC," Dr Bhattacharya had said.

NRC is a register containing names of Indian citizens, which was prepared for the only time in 1951. It is being updated for Assam to ascertain illegal immigrants.

The first list of NRC was first published in Assam in 1951.

When the draft NRC was published on July 30, 2018, there was a huge controversy over the exclusion of 40.7 lakh people from it. The draft NRC included the names of 2.9 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applications.

The updated list of citizens was published in August 2019 which had excluded 19.06 lakh people, out of 3.3 crore applicants.

(With Agency Inputs)