Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader has assured that steps will be taken to address the Assam Government’s creation of a National Register of Citizens (NRC) list
“We are aware that the Assam government is creating a list of illegal Bangladeshis. If any problems arise, we will address the issue with New Delhi,” Obaidul said during a press conference in the secretariat marking new year's eve.
More than two million Muslims have been living in Assam since the independence of Bangladesh. Many of them do not have adequate evidence to prove their citizenship. It is feared that many Muslims from Assam will be expelled after being identified as “illegal immigrants from Bangladeshi” during the creation of the NRC list.
The Assam State Government released the first draft of the NRC list on Monday. In the draft list, the names of about 19 million out of near 33 million residents of Assam were included.
At a press conference on Sunday, the registrar general of India said that an updated NRC list will be released after verifying the identities of those people not included in the first draft.
This article was first published on Bangla Tribune