This refers to the editorial, “Citizenship rights” (August 1). A massive bureaucratic exercise is under the process in Assam ever since the Supreme Court ordered that the National Registrar of Citizens (NRC), which the State Government had prepared along with the national census in 1951, be updated and set December 31, 2017 as the deadline. The NRC was meant to decide who is a bona fide Indian citizen and those who fail to enlist in the register, will be deemed illegal migrants.
Political consensus in the State is that the NRC is the best mechanism to separate the citizen from illegal migrants. Now, this exercise has thrown up ominous results. The fear that a huge section of the population runs the risk of being alienated seems credible at this point.
The Congress is unnecessarily objecting to the NRC, by alleging that there is a “political motive” of the BJP behind the exclusion of such a large number of people in the final draft.
Political parties and all concerned need to exhibit responsibility so that peaceful ambience is continued till the final NRC comes out. It’s a momentous occasion for the State and its people whose existence had been under threat due to large-scale cross-border infiltration from Bangladesh over decades. After all, the NRC updating would also act as a deterrent for future illegal influx from the neighbouring country.