Give certified copy with reasons for exclusion from NRC: Congress

The Opposition Congress has asked the authorities to start the process of filing appeals only after providing certified copies to those excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) citing reasons for their exclusion.

More than 19 lakh people were excluded from the final NRC published on Saturday. The State government said they would get 120 days to move the Foreigners’ Tribunals seeking inclusion of their names.

Approaching these tribunals is the only option for the NRC-excluded to be counted as citizens again. Each of the existing 100 such tribunals — 200 more are expected to come up within two months — have to dispose of a case within six months.

“The government should ideally give each excluded person the reason for his or her exclusion on the basis of which they can prepare their case,” a Congress spokesperson said.

Providing certified copies to each of the 19 lakh excluded could take a long time for the government, which has not spelt out when the process for filing appeals would begin.

There is also no clarity on what would be the fate of the excluded people if the courts establish them as foreigners. Officials said none of the excluded would be placed in detention camps till the Foreigners’ Tribunals dispose of the cases.

Deportation is out of the question as of now as New Delhi and Dhaka have already said the NRC is an internal matter of India. The excluded people can claim inclusion by producing any of the 15 documents specified by NRC authority.