Guwahati: High on confidence after the successful publication of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the Union ministry of home affairs may propose an Assam-like NRC in all the states, security sources said.
Pointing out that preparation of the NRC was more challenging and complex in Assam due to problem of influx, security sources said that the ministry is not expecting much trouble during similar exercises in other states.
In Assam, where the final draft of the NRC left out names of 40 lakh people out of the 3.29 crore applicants, the ministry has also started working out a strategy to propagate the idea of issuing “biometric work permit” to all those who may be declared “illegal foreigners”. This has been decided as it is physically impossible to deport such a large number of people to their country of origin, sources said.
Claiming that the political leadership has to take a call on implementing NRC in all states, sources in the ministry said that their immediate challenge is to take a decision on the fate of those who face the possibility of being tagged as “illegal foreigners” in Assam.
Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) is a record of all legal citizens of a state. The first list of NRC was created way back in 1951. During the anti-illegal foreigners’ movement in Assam in 1980, demands were raised to update the list.
Under Supreme Court’s monitoring, the registrar general of India released the final “draft”of the Assam NRC on July 31 in which names of 2.89 crore out of 3.29 crore applicants were included, but 40 lakh didn’t find mention. Those left out of the NRC final draft now face a nearly month-long process, of claims and objections to the draft that starts from August 30.
Security sources said that home ministry was keen on the “biometric work permit” concept in Assam as it would also not be a practical to confine a huge number of people, who might be declared as “illegal foreigners”, in detention camps.
Asserting that “biometric work permit” may help in keeping track of “illegal foreigners”, sources said that home ministry is looking into all these aspects as the Supreme Court may ask the government about its action plan to deal with “illegal foreigners”.
Apart from disenfranchising them, the home ministry would also push for depriving them of the right to buy immoveable property in the state, sources said.
Pointing out that Union home minister Rajnath Singh has taken up the issue of influx from Bangladesh with his counterpart in Dhaka, sources said it was not possible to ask a sovereign country to take back lakhs of immigrants.
Sources said that Dhaka may not agree to accept the deportation of lakhs of people from India even though it recently took back 52 immigrants deported from Assam.
