Supreme Court lawyer and convener of the Prabajan Virodhi Manch, an anti-influx body, Upamanyu Hazarika, rooted for re-verification of the updated register instead of a fresh National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam.

In a statement on Sunday, Hazarika said re-verification of the NRC, especially in the border districts of the state, would be ideal.

“There is no need for a fresh NRC but a re-verification in the migrant-dominated and border district areas is essential. A large number of illegal migrants made it to the register by submitting false documents,” he said.

The Manch had earlier demanded re-verification of the register in the districts of Dhubri, South Salmara and Karimganj along the India-Bangladesh border. The state government, too, had pleaded before the Supreme Court for a re-verification of the NRC in these areas, citing an “abnormal rate of non-inclusion of applicants” in the register.

According to the state government, the non-inclusion rates in South Salmara, Dhubri and Karimganj districts were 7.22 per cent, 8.26 per cent and 7.57 per cent respectively. Whereas, the exclusion rate in the districts of Karbi Anglong (14.31 per cent) and Tinsukia (13.25 per cent) was comparatively higher despite the presence of a large population of indigenous tribes and communities.

“From the release of the draft NRC last year to the final register’s publication on August 31, the government did not file any prayer before the Supreme Court in justification for re-verification. During this 13-month period, the state was busy trying to bring in the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, instead of taking steps to rectify the updated register. The state government’s efforts to file applications of NRC re-verification went in vain as they were initiated only a few days ahead of the final register’s publication,” Hazarika alleged. The apex court rejected the state’s plea on re-verification.

The Manch blamed the state government for “using the NRC as a political tool for vested interests”.

With over 19 lakh people excluded from the NRC, Hazarika said the register was full of errors.

“There is no guarantee that a fresh NRC exercise will not yield the same result. It is clear where the fault lies and re-verification is the only answer. But those in power choose to remain ignorant,” he added.