Assam NRC final draft: OP Rawat says only Indians can participate in polls, seeks report from state chief electoral officer

A day after the second and final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published, the Election Commission has reportedly sought a detailed report from the Chief Electoral Officer of Assam on the list. [caption id=“attachment_4349365” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat. PTI[/caption] Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat told News18 that the state government officials have been asked to furnish a report on the issue within seven to ten days. “Only those who are citizens of India are allowed to participate in any election. So those who are not in the NRC final report are not Indian citizens and hence not eligible to vote,” Rawat said. A senior home ministry official had told The Hindu on Monday that the voting rights of the 40 lakh applicants missing from the NRC would be decided by the Election Commission. The final list of the NRC, which is being updated in Assam, will be published by December this year, the home ministry announced after the draft list was published with the exclusion of 40.7 lakh out of a total 3.29 crore applicants. The Registrar General of Citizen Registration has notified that the enumeration in connection with updating of the NRC, 1951, in Assam shall be completed within 31 December, 2018, the notification said. The notification was signed by Sailesh, Registrar General of Citizen Registration. Meanwhile, the process of claims and objections to the draft NRC in Assam will start from 30 August and continue for a month, a senior home ministry official said. The process, if required, can be also extended by another month, he said. During the period, no coercive action will be taken against anyone, the official said. Union home minister Rajnath Singh told the Lok Sabha on Monday that the list was published on the directives of the Supreme Court and the Centre has no role in it. He also said the NRC list published on Monday is not the final list and applicants will have the option of raising claims and objections. “People who feel their name should have been part of the NRC can file claims and objections. In how much time those claims and objections would be disposed of, will be decided by the Supreme Court,” Singh said. With inputs from agencies