Guwahati: The AASU, APW and the AAMSU, all parties to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) case in the Supreme Court, are unhappy with the exclusion figures and have decided to move the court for remedial measures.
“The exclusion of 19 lakh people from the final NRC is nowhere near the number declared by the Centre and the state government at various points of time. We are not running after the figures but we had expected more exclusions. We feel there is some error in the list and it is not complete,” All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharjya said after the publication of the final NRC here on Saturday.
A total of 19,06,657 residents of Assam have not made it to the NRC. In all, 3,11,21,004 people have been included, out of 3,30,27,661 applicants.
“The NRC is updated through a legal process monitored by the Supreme Court. We will file an appeal before the Supreme Court for immediate measures. We have full confidence in the apex court, which will provide a solution to us,” Bhattacharjya said.
AASU had led the six-year-long anti-foreigner movement in the state, resulting in the 1985 Assam Accord and the NRC update.
The All Assam Minorities Students’ Union (AAMSU) and the Assam Public Works (APW) also said they would move the apex court, seeking its intervention to ensure an infiltrator-free NRC.
AAMSU adviser Azizur Rahman said: “We are unhappy at genuine citizens, irrespective of religion, being excluded. The numbers don’t matter as the figures provided by different people over time were speculative. Some said there were 40 lakh foreigners while others pegged the number at 80 lakh. The NRC was updated on a scientific basis, with many hearings and re-verifications. Many have been left out on technical grounds. We will approach the Supreme Court on their behalf.”
The APW, the original petitioner in the Supreme Court which led to the update of the 1951 NRC, also expressed displeasure over the final NRC. It said it would move the apex court, seeking complete re-verification of the NRC applicants to weed out illegal migrants, and send memoranda to the Prime Minister and the President, seeking audit of the Rs 1,600 crore spent during the exercise.
