New Delhi/Guwahati: With the deadline for finalisation of the draft for the National Register of Citizens (NRC) approaching on July 30, the Union home ministry on Wednesday directed the Assam government to ensure that no action should be taken against those whose names do not figure in the NRC.
“There is no question of referring the persons whose names do not figure in the draft NRC to the Foreigners’ Tribunal as people are entitled to file claims and objections and due opportunity has to be given to them before the final publication,” the MHA said. The state administration was also asked to maintain law and order and set up a coordination committee headed by the chief secretary to deal with all agencies. Round-the-clock control rooms will also be set up at the state capital and all district HQs to receive complaints and ensure a prompt response.
The Registrar-General of India was also asked to use all means of communication, including websites, toll-free numbers, SMSes, etc, to provide information to the public about the draft NRC. The MHA has said an intensive public awareness campaign had been started to disseminate information on the NRC process, the options available for individuals whose names do not figure in the draft NRC, the procedure and timelines for filing claims and objections, in order to address the concerns of those left out of the draft list.
The Centre has already deployed 22,000 paramilitary personnel to deal with any possible fallout, including violent incidents, on publication of the draft NRC.
The home ministry also clarified that there was no question of people being sent to detention centres if their names were not in the draft NRC, and the state government has been asked to give instructions to the district administrations as well as the local police.
In Guwahati, state NRC coordinator Parteek Hajela said after an extensive exercise of three years in which over 50,000 people were involved, the draft NRC was ready for rollout on July 30. He said the final NRC draft would be available online, while pre-registered and on-demand SMS services would also be available for people. He said hard copies of the draft NRC would be available in all 2,500 NRC Seva Kendras across the state on July 30 morning.
Mr Hajela said the verification process had been completed and the data entry work was also done. The final touches were now being given to the complete draft, and taking printouts would take some time. But he asserted that all the work was on schedule.
The first draft of the NRC contained only the names, but the complete draft would contain names, photos and places of birth of the applicants. “We will be publishing the names of only those who are found to be eligible for inclusion in the NRC. There will be no negative list and the names of those whose applications were rejected will not be made public,” he added.
