NRC: AASU surprised at gap between initial estimate of illegal immigrants and actual names

August 31: “There are faults in the latest NRC. AASU is disappointed with the document. We will approach the Supreme Court to appeal for rectification of these mistakes,” said Dr Samujjal Bhattacharyya,  Chief Adviser of All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) at a press conference in Guwahati on Saturday. He further said that there is no similarity between the figures of illegal foreigners often quoted by the government and the number of exclusion in the NRC.

President of All Assam Students’ Union Dipankar Kumar Nath said, “Since the Central and state governments failed to update the NRC for the last six decades since 1951 such mistakes have crept into the latest documents. When AASU wanted only 10 documents to be given for reverification, the Centre and the state governments insisted on 15 in the Supreme Court. Officers who were diligent working were transferred out. The NRC is incomplete but we have complete faith in the judiciary would approach the apex court so that steps could be taken to correct the same.

 AASU General Secretary Lurin Jyoti Gogoi too expressed displeasure at the role of the government and said, “The Assam government failed to avail the opportunity to hand the people of the state a foreigner-free NRC. In fact in the last one year only 75 people were referred to the Foreigners’ Tribunal.”

Further,  Abhijit Sarma, the Chief of Assam Public Works (APW), crtiticised the state government over the figures of exclusion. Infact, APW was the filed the first petition in the apex court seeking to update the NRC. He told that APW would soon approach President Ram Nath Kovind in this matter. Abhijit Sarma said, “With this NRC, it is not possible to deport the illegal foreigners from Assam in next 30 years time.”