Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has reiterated that no Indian will be left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) being updated in the State, and every effort is being made to prepare an error-free list.
“As the Supreme Court is monitoring the progress and update of the NRC, no one needs to worry. Every Indian will get justice and the State government is extending its support to NRC authorities to prepare an error-free NRC so that every Indian, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, will have his or her name registered,” he told The Hindu here on Monday.
Mamata’s charge
Responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that there was a conspiracy to drive out Bengali-speaking people from Assam using the NRC update as a pretext, Mr. Sonowal said: “It’s not a question of conspiracy. She’s making a political kind of distinct statement.”
He said the NRC was all about registration of bona fide Indian citizens. “There is no haziness, no confusion. It is a very clear, very fair process,” he said. Anyone whose name was left out had the right to appeal by providing relevant documents.
Asked what would happen to those identified as foreigners, he said the question did not arise now, since only the draft rolls were being published. “The question will come up only when the final rolls are published,” he said.
