NRC: 19 lakh or 40 lakh is not the point, its a base document for the future, says Ranjan Gogoi

November 3: NRC is neither a “new or a novel idea” as it found expression as early as in 1951 and the current exercise is an attempt to update the 1951 NRC. National Register of Citizens (NRC), as it may finally emerge, is not a document of the moment. 19 lakh or 40 lakh is not the point. It’s base document for future. This was what Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi said on Sunday in a programme in New Delhi.

The chief justice of India made the comments while addressing the book launch of Post Colonial Assam (1947-2019) by journalist Mrinal Talukdar in New Delhi. The top judge also lauded the citizens of Assam for going along with the various cutoff dates involved in the preparation of the exercise.

Gogoi also lashed out at few media outlets over irresponsible reporting, saying it only worsened the situation. Justice Gogoi said the national discourse on the NRC had seen the emergence of armchair commentators who present a distorted picture. He also slammed people using the social media to cast aspersions on the NRC exercise.

The Supreme Court monitored final NRC was published on 31 August, 2019. Out of a total number of 3,30,27,661 applicants, the names of 3,11,21,004 were included in the final NRC. That means a total of 19,06,657 persons were excluded from the NRC. The names not in the final list will now be referred to 300 quasi-judicial bodies called Foreigners’ Tribunals, constituted by the Assam government.