Published 09:01 IST, September 24th 2019
Assam: BJP to tell SC it rejects NRC, says finance minister Sarma
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Assam's finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said that the BJP does not accept the National Register of Citizens
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Assam's finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday has said that the BJP does not accept the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state and he claimed that the party will tell the Supreme Court that it rejects the NRC process. He also mentioned that the Citizenship Amendment Bill will be reintroduced in the winter session of Parliament to grant Indian citizenship to minority refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Sarma was addressing the BJP party members at Karimganj and Silchar in the Barak valley where he made these statements.
Sarma's statement
According to reports, Sarma, while speaking to the BJP party members said, "We (BJP) do not believe in this NRC system. Let there be a case in the Supreme Court, the BJP party will say to the court that it rejects NRC. The law to grant citizenship to those who came to India due to religious persecution will also be passed soon," Sarma said.
During the panchayat and the Lok Sabha elections, BJP had said that it favoured the citizenship bill, as per reports. "The people seeking shelter in India owing to religious persecution will be given citizenship, its a matter of time. Just wait for three to four months. During the elections, BJP got over10 lakh votes in Gauhati Lok Sabha seat. In Assamese dominated Brahmaputra valley 10 out 10 Assamese voted for us. This tells us that the people have accepted and supported our plans and policies in recent elections," he claimed.
NRC Final List Out
Earlier on September 14, the Assam Government on Saturday has released the results for all the 3.3 crore NRC applicants online only. As shared on its official website, this full-fledged list has the name of the applicants as per Draft NRC and the supplementary list of Inclusions and Exclusions. All family members can now check their final status online. Previously on August 31, the National Registry of Citizens (NRC) state coordinator's office released the final NRC list. 3,11,21,004 Assam residents have been found eligible, while 19,06,657 Assam residents have been found ineligible.
About the NRC
The NRC was first prepared in 1951 under the purview of the Census Act, 1948. An updation process was started in 2013 and ended with the receipt of forms by the NRC authorities on 31 August 2015. The process aimed at separating genuine Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in Assam. As per NRC terms, a resident has to prove that they or their ancestors entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971. The Centre has said that those failing to do so may not be deported.
Updated 09:29 IST, September 24th 2019