Assam | D-Voters now Eligible for NRC Inclusion

Guwahati, May 29, 2019:

Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) co-ordinator Prateek Hajela has confirmed that 'D-voters' or doubtful voters will now be eligible for inclusion in the final NRC draft to be published in July 31.

In a letter sent to deputy commissioners and district registrars of citizen registration on Friday, Hajela said: "Even if the D marking is not yet removed by ECI but the FT/judicial authority order declaring such person to be Indian is received , the person will be eligible for inclusion in the NRC."

Thus, the D-voters will be eligible for inclusion even if their D-voter tag is not removed from electoral rolls, if they can produce a copy of foreigners tribunal (FT) or other court judgment announcing their Indian citizenship.

[caption id="attachment_31499" align="alignnone" width="660"] Hajela's letter[/caption]

It may be mentioned that D voter, sometimes also referred to as Dubious voter or Doubtful voter is a category of voters in Assam who are disenfranchised by the government on the account of their alleged lack of proper citizenship credentials.

The D voters are determined by special tribunals under the Foreigners Act, and the person declared as D voter is not given the elector's photo identity card. In 2011, the Gauhati High Court ordered the D voters to be transferred to Foreigners Tribunals set up under Foreigners Tribunal Order 1964 and be kept in detention camps

Assam Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary had last year admitted that the State of Assam has 1,25,333 D-voters whose cases are pending with the tribunals. The Minister had also said that 2,44,144 D-voters had been referred to foreigners tribunals, of which 1,31,034 had been disposed of.

Keep following Inside Northeast on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and Instagram. Do download our app from the Google Playstore for the latest news updates, views, and entertainment on the go. We deliver the Northeast.