APW demands 100 percent re-verification of NRC before 2021 Assam assembly elections

The Assam Public Works (APW) on Monday demanded 100 percent re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) before the 2021 state assembly elections. The APW is the original petitioner in the Supreme Court which triggered the process of updating the NRC.

“We cannot accept the NRC in its current form. So we propose 100 per cent verification of the NRC and omission of all illegal voters from the register for a flawless and error-free voters’ list. The process can be completed in six months’ time and till then the Assembly elections (scheduled in 2021) can be deferred, just like the postponement of the BTAD elections due to the coronavirus outbreak earlier this year,” Abhijeet Sharma, the APW president,  said while addressing media in Guwahati.

The APW also alleged that names of more than 80 lakh illegal voters have been included in the final NRC. Sharma claimed that the whole exercise of the NRC has gone into vain. He urged both the state as well as the state government to submit affidavits in Supreme Court and initiate the NRC re-verification process. He also regretted that despite six affidavits have been  submitted by APW in the Supreme Court since mid-2018, nothing has been done in regard for re-verification of the NRC.

Sharma also alleged that a conspiracy has been hatched to include “Bangladeshis” in the final NRC. “Of the 19 lakh people left out of the final NRC draft, about 3.90 lakh of them are indigenous citizens. The others, comprising doubtful voters, can easily approach the foreigner tribunal courts and get their names included in the final NRC draft,” Sharma added.

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