Assam Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the National Register of Citizens (NRC) cannot be perceived as a "red letter" for the Assamese community.
The NRC is the list that identifies legal residents, isolating the illegal immigrants located at the northeastern state.
However, Minister Sarma hardly believes that the list will truly help with the removal of foreigners, reports NDTV.
There are approximately 31.1 million citizens that have been included within the final Assam citizens' list excluding over 1.9 million people that are being ignored, the senior BJP leader told local reporters on Friday.
#NRCAssam
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 31, 2019
Names of many Indian citizens who migrated from Bangladesh as refugees prior to 1971 have not been included in the NRC because authorities refused to accept refugee certificates. Many names got included because of manipulation of legacy data as alleged by many 1/2
"We have lost hope in the present form of the NRC right after the draft. When so many genuine Indians are out, then how can you claim that this document is a red letter for the Assamese society?
"In districts bordering Bangladesh, like South Salmara and Dhubri, the rate of exclusion is the lowest and in Bhumiputra district, it's high. How it can be? We are not interested in this NRC anymore," Minister Sarma said.
NRC not to solve foreigner problem: Himanta Biswa Sarma | Deccan Herald https://t.co/u8FyY4nShn
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) August 31, 2019
"NRC is no quarter final, semi-final and final for driving out Bangladeshis...wait a while and you will see more finals under the BJP regime," he added.
Security measures in Assam have heightened where tens of thousands of military force and police are posted along the northeastern state neighbouring Bangladesh.
The centre announced that individuals whose names are not included in the final NRC cannot be declared foreigners until all legal opportunities have been used. Every individual refused from the NRC can address the Foreigners Tribunal where the appeal deadline has currently increased from 60 to 120 days.
Minister Sarma said, "We just want the NRC to pass off well, peacefully, and we will ensure it, but this NRC won't help us get rid of foreigners."
He also mentioned the government was anticipating and discussing new strategies on combating illegal migrants in Assam as well as the centre. "At Dispur and Delhi we have already started fresh strategy on how we can drive out the illegal migrants and we will so come up with new plans," he said.
After meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah last week, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal claimed that the centre might review a law to remove foreigners that could have possibly entered the list and including the original citizens who could have been excluded.
