Campaign for NRC update, total autonomy for Assam

Campaign for NRC update, total autonomy for Assam

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Aug 9: Intellectuals, leaders of different organizations and students today organized a sit-in near Dighalipukhuri in the city demanding resumption of the pilot project for updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), land and property rights and total autonomy for the people of Assam.

Participating in the programme which was organized by the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP), intellectual Dr Hiren Gohain, former Gauhati University Vice Chancellor Deboprasad Baruah, artiste Surya Das, advocate Nekibur Zaman, All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union (AKRSU) leader Parag Koch, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS) leader Aditya Lahkar, PCG member Lachit Bordoloi, All Assam Motok Yuba Chatra Sanmilan leader Nikheswar Saikia and Gorkha Students’ Union (GSU) leader Bhaskar Dahal sharply criticized the State Government’s decision to put the pilot project on NRC update on hold and called for total autonomy for Assam.

They demanded that the government should immediately resume the pilot project on NRC update.

AJYCP general secretary Manoj Barua said, “The State Government is playing with the future of Assam for the sake of its vote bank.”

“The current stand of the Assam Government on the NRC issue is anti-indigenous people. After the signing of the Assam Accord, there were hopes of a solution to the foreigners issue through revision of the NRC. But the government stopped the pilot project on the NRC only because of unruly behaviour by members of a particular organization,” said Barua.

He said, “The Cabinet Committee on the NRC formed recently is just a ploy of the government to delay and then stop the NRC update exercise.”

The State Government had decided to temporarily stop the pilot project on the NRC following the July 21 Barpeta incident in which four persons were killed and over 50 people injured after the police opened fire to control an unruly mob during the rally called by the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) in protest against the pilot project for updating of the NRC, 1951.

The Congress-led Government had later constituted a Cabinet Committee to go into the alleged errors in the NRC form. While the AAMSU claimed that there were errors in the NRC form, the AASU said there was no error in the NRC form.

The AGP, State BJP and several organizations have slammed the State Government for its decision to keep the NRC pilot project in abeyance.

The first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on the NRC held recently decided to remove the “minor errors” in the NRC form and speed up the process of updating of the NRC through consultations with all political parties and organizations. The meeting , however, did not make it clear when the pilot project on the NRC would resume. THE SENTINEL