SEAnews 2018-08-16 ArtNo.46318

【New Delhi】Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju said on August 1 that the government was duty-bound to protect the interests of "genuine Indians" and not anyone else who was "fake or had entered India illegally".
　Mr. Rijiju's comments come in the wake of the controversy that has erupted after the publication of the final draft of the NRC. He said the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam was updated not on "religious lines" and it concerned the identity of Indians. In the state nearly 40 lakh of the 3.9 crore applicants did not make it to the list.
　Mr. Rijiju told The Hindu that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that the publication of the NRC would lead to "civil war and bloodbath" was unbecoming of her post. "The primary responsibility of the government or the Chief Minister is to provide security to each citizen. To ensure security in their territory, if the Chief Minister makes such comments like civil war and bloodbath, it's very much unbecoming of a person occupying the chair," he said.
　As per a report submitted by NRC coordinator Prateek Hajela in the Supreme Court on July 31, the total number of persons included in the complete draft of the NRC is 2,89,83,677, leaving a total of 40,70,707 as illegible for inclusion. "Out of the aforesaid 40,70,707 names, 37,59,630 have been rejected and 2,48,077 names were kept on hold," the report said said. A senior Home Ministry official said it would be wrong to call those not included in the NRC as "infiltrators" as the final decision lay with the Foreigners Tribunals.
　Mr. Rijiju said no Indian would be left out of the list when the final NRC was published. "The government's first priority is to protect the interests of Indians. It must work for the protection of Indians first. Those living in India illegally … the illegal infiltrators, how can the government protect their interests?" the Minister said.
　On reports that vigilantes in Meghalaya were stopping vehicles along the Assam border and asking residents to produce documents to prove identity, Mr. Rijiju said, "Every State government has its own authority and it should act." He said if there were loopholes in conducting the NRC exercise they would be examined. "Everyone will be given enough opportunity to file claims and objections and produce documents," he said.

○'Son of the soil' CM Sarbananda Sonowal has kept Assam steady amid NRC woes

【New Delhi】The situation in Assam could have been worse -- a lot worse. Much of the credit for control of politics and repeated reassurance that no one will be a loser and everyone will win must go to Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, after the National Register of Citizens (NRC) left out nearly 4 million names of people who consider themselves Assamese, including those whose families have been living in Assam for decades.　It is no exaggeration to say that after 1946-47, the NRC has the potential to divide India, leaving a huge mass of people disenfranchised.
　Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Ram Madhav said implementing the NRC was indispensable given the demography of Assam and North Eastern states were getting significantly altered due to illegal Muslim migration that has happened over the past many years. He said, "The cultural identity of the state, the livelihoods and lands of the Assamese people are at stake here."
　The governments of northeastern States adjoining Assam have alerted their citizens to a possible increase in influx of outsiders following the publication of the NRC draft. Nagaland's Home Department has issued advisories asking all village, town and municipal authorities to strictly monitor the influx of people from outside the State in violation of the existing rules and norms. According to the department’s advisory, “Any unusual influx of outsiders should be promptly brought to the knowledge of the district administration and police.”

○NRC update: New Standard Operating Procedure for those left out

【New Delhi】Applicants left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) may be given a personal hearing under a fresh Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) being devised by the Home Ministry.
　The Registrar-General of India (RGI) and the Home Ministry are exploring several options to provide adequate opportunity to 40 lakh of the 3.9 crore applicants whose names were not included in the final NRC draft published on July 30. RGI Sailesh told The Hindu that the SoP would ensure that filing claims and objections was a fair and credible process.
　On July 31, a Supreme Court Bench had ordered the government to frame, in consultation with State NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, a “fair” SoP to deal with the claims and objections of those who did not find their names in the draft NRC.
　“The SoP will also go into the aspects of disposal of claims and objections,” Mr. Sailesh said, “so that reasonable time and adequate opportunity are given to applicants. The rules say that any person can make an objection against an inclusion and any person whose name is not there can file a claim.”
　The Home Ministry had earlier told the Assam government that no action should be initiated by the administration or the police based on the draft NRC.

【News source】

NRC update: Centre will protect only ‘genuine Indians’, says Rijiju

'Son of the soil' CM Sarbananda Sonowal has kept Assam steady amid NRC woes

NRC needed to maintain cultural identity, says BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav

NRC update: Nagaland advisory on outsiders

NRC update: New Standard Operating Procedure for those left out

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