Siliguri (WB): West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday asked the Alipurduar district administration to remain alert about the developments in neighbouring Assam, where the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) is slated to be published by the month-end, and keep an eye on whether people were pushed back from the north-eastern state.
She asked the block development officers of Alipurduar to immediately inform the district magistrate and the superintendent of police if any instance of infiltration from Assam was brought to their notice. “There are some ongoing problems in Assam. There could be a possible push back from there,” Ms Banerjee said, addressing an administrative review meeting of Alipurduar district.
The NRC of 1951 is being updated in Assam under the supervision of the Supreme Court to identify the original residents of the state and check illegal migration.
Following the publication of the first draft on the intervening night of December 31 and January 1, Ms Banerjee had accused the BJP-led central government of hatching a conspiracy to drive out Bengalis from Assam by excluding their names from the document.
She had also cautioned the Centre on the issue, saying it should not “play with fire”. The Supreme Court has extended the June 30 deadline for publication of the final draft of the NRC by a month. NRC state coordinator Prateek Hajela had said the names of around 1.5 lakh people, featuring in the first draft, would not be included in the final draft to be published on July 30 as discrepancies were found during verification.
