The Muslim organisations in Assam differed in their stands on the final National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Muslim Students’ Federation (MSF) has welcomed it while the Asomiya Muslim Kalyan Parishad (AMKP) has refused to accept it as a valid document of Assamese identity.

In separate news conferences here on Tuesday, the two organisations admitted that foreigners’ names had been included in the document that had drawn flak from different quarters.

The state committee of the MSF, the youth wing of the Indian Union Muslim League, welcomed the NRC declared under the direction of the Supreme Court.

The MSF’s state president Tousif Hussain said: “The final list of NRC was prepared scientifically and everyone should welcome it. More than 19 lakh people were left out and around three lakh people had not filed their claims before the NRC authorities. They will now have to do so at the foreigners tribunals. The MSF stands by the people of Assam at this hour of crisis and shall fight for justice for each and every deprived person irrespective of caste, creed and religion.” The MSF has decided to provide free legal aid to those excluded from the list. It however, requested everybody “not to go by any rumour and create panic in society”.

The organisation warned the “government and other fascist organisations not to play with public emotion, as this is a situation of people losing their identities and beloved homes”. It promised to put in efforts to ensure an error- free NRC in which no foreigner’s name would be included and no genuine Indian citizen would be left out.

The AMKP president Rahamsha Ali reacted to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s statement on Article 370 of the Constitution of India, saying: “We welcome the historic step on Article 370 taken by Modi. We want to make it clear that Imran Khan is not a leader of the Indian Muslims. He is an enemy of India and its Muslims.”

Ali said: “The recently-published NRC is not good news for the indigenous Assamese people. It is incomplete and full of mistakes. We cannot derive satisfaction that a few indigenous people have made it to the list. All such people should be included. It is a matter of concern that lakhs of foreigners have been included. This is a threat to the Assamese people, particularly the Assamese Muslims, many of whom have been excluded.”

“The Assam Movement affected lakhs of people, but the number of foreigners in the NRC does not reflect this. All foreigners should be identified and the indigenous people should be given protection. It is a shame that Indian people have to approach courts to verify their citizenship status. We demand re-verification of the NRC,” Ali added.