Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma assured on Friday that the rights and privileges of those whose names are missing in the final draft of the National Register of Citizens will not be curtailed. The draft will be published on July 30.
Assam began to update the National Register of Citizens in 2015 to create a definitive list of citizens of the state. The first draft was published on January 1, and has verified 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore who applied. The exercise is aimed at identifying illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.
“A draft is a draft,” Sarma said, according to PTI. “Nobody’s rights and privileges will be taken away on the basis of the draft NRC. No one will be sent to any detention camp.”
State coordinator of National Register of Citizens Prateek Hajela said citizens can file claims and can approach the Foreigners Tribunal to clear their name if they are missing in the draft, Time8 reported.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said that no one will be treated as foreigner if their names are not included in the draft.
Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia told PTI that the police are carrying out community engagement programmes and are monitoring social media to curb spread of rumours and fake news.
The Centre has also advised the state government to set up a state-level coordination committee under the chief secretary to ensure coordination among state agencies, NRC authorities and central agencies.
“Round-the-clock control rooms at the state capital and district headquarters are to be activated to receive complaints and coordinate a prompt response,” an advisory from Ministry of Home Affairs stated.
Several north-eastern states that share borders with Assam have kept their police forces on alert to curb possible infiltration of illegal immigrants after the final draft is published, PTI reported.
The Arunachal Pradesh government has asked its police department to maintain a vigil at all check points. The Meghalaya Police is on alert along the state’s border with Assam.
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