No need of fresh NRC in Assam if Supreme Court allows 20% re-verification in border districts, says Himanta Biswa Sarma

Guwahati: Assam government on Monday said there will be no need for the state to be a part of the proposed nation-wide NRC if the Supreme Court allows re-verification of its 20 percent names from the border districts.

The state government does not accept the existing National Register of Citizens (NRC), the final version of which was published on 31 August with over 19 lakh exclusions, Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told a press conference.

“If the Supreme Court accepts our demand of 20 percent re-verification in border districts, we (Assam) don’t need a national one. We are sure lots of mistakes will be found out in the re-verification process,” he said.

The Assam government had earlier submitted an affidavit in the apex court praying for re-verification of 20 percent names in the draft NRC in border districts, but the plea was denied.

“The PM yesterday said there is no plan for a nation-wide NRC. So we have to pursue only in the Supreme Court. If it does not listen to us, we will have to approach the Government of India.”

The NRC was published under the supervision of the Supreme Court.