Assam NRC draft: Top census official Sailesh says no Indian will be left out of final list on account of technicalities

New Delhi: Amidst a raging debate over the exclusion of 40 lakh people from the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the country’s top census official said on Thursday that no Indian will be left out of the final list of Assam’s citizenship on account of “technicalities” and the authorities were alive to the concerns of those left out. [caption id=“attachment_4878591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image. PTI[/caption] The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Sailesh, told PTI in an interview that a “lack of information and knowledge” about the application process for the NRC could have led to the omission of names from the second and final draft that was published on 30 July. “These things are a matter of concern for us also and we would like to ensure that no Indian citizen is left out purely on technicalities. There may be some cases, where, due to lack of information and empowerment, certain documentation has gone missing from a person, but if that person is a genuine Indian citizen, he should not worry.” He added that they “will have to ensure that a genuine person gets the required documentation,” when asked about reports that the names of some members of certain families and some prominent people were missing from the draft NRC. The 1985-batch Assam cadre IAS officer said they were “alive” to these issues. “We are sensitive. Even if there is a minor error in the submission of certain people, a course correction is available. “Sometimes, non-empowerment and lack of information of the process also lead to it (exclusion of names). The authorities will leave no stone unturned for proper diligence when these claims come up,” he said. Sailesh also said that during the claims and objections period, beginning 30 August, the key priorities of the NRC authorities would be giving due opportunities to those who have grievances, providing assistance to the needy or uneducated, and launching an intensive awareness campaign on social, print and electronic media, describing the entire process. “We will ensure that no genuine Indian faces any inconvenience. The inclusion of their name in the final NRC is our priority,” he said. When asked about reports that people who possessed Aadhaar did not make it to the list, the RGI said the unique identification number was “not a proof of citizenship, but only residency”. “Twelve documents are listed under the Citizenship Act and rules. One of those, along with the legacy data of the applicant, is required,” he added. The officer said there could be many reasons why certain members of a family made it to the draft list, while others did not. Giving an example, Sailesh said people might not be fully aware of the documentation process and if there was a list of the required documents like the legacy document, which was essential in many cases, then it was quite possible that those might not have been given to the authorities.  “Once people know that such a document (legacy document or any other listed in the charter of citizenship) is not available, they will definitely come with it during the claims and objections process. The legacy document may be one, but the linked documents are many and each person has one. These aspects will be looked into during the claims and objections process that will begin now,” he said. Sailesh described the entire NRC updating exercise as an operation of “unprecedented scale”, perhaps across the globe.