RSS says Assam NRC final list has 'some errors', asks Centre to remove them before moving forward

Pushkar: The RSS on Monday said there are “some errors” in the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam and the government should remove those before moving forward, but asserted that the exercise is a welcome step. Concerns were raised on the first day of the RSS’ annual coordination meeting on Saturday over several genuine citizens being left out of the final list of NRC in Assam, majority of whom they claimed are Hindus, sources said. BJP’s general-secretary Ram Madhav, who is also the party’s in charge for all the seven northeastern states, has briefed the meeting about the NRC exercise carried out in Assam and its final list. [caption id=“attachment_7311441” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Visual from RSS meeting on Saturday. Twitter/@RSSorg[/caption] Addressing a press conference in Pushkar on the final day of the Sangh’s coordination meeting, RSS’ joint general-secretary Dattatreya Hosabale described NRC as a “complicated and complex issue” as names of many Bangladeshi illegal immigrants are in the voters list. “There are about 35 to 40 lakh illegal immigrants from Bangladeshis who are now settled in Assam, and had been issued legal documents during previous governments, which have complicated and made the entire issue more complex,” he said, adding that the NRC was discussed in the meeting. Suggesting that the government should rectify the NRC list before moving forward, the RSS leader said, “NRC’s final list is not a law…there are some errors and mistakes in it…. The government should move forward by removing those.” However, he applauded the state BJP-led government for carrying out NRC exercise, saying they have to complete this task in a stipulated time after coming to power. According to the sources present in the meeting, the NRC issue was discussed at length and concerns were raised on several genuine citizens being left out, especially those who settled in Assam from the neighbouring states. The leaders also expressed concerns claiming that majority of the 1.9 million people excluded are Hindus, they said. The BJP has criticised the updated NRC list and said the government will bring in a legislation to safeguard Indian citizens if the Foreigners’ Tribunals deliver adverse judgments against the appeals. The final list of the NRC in Assam, published on 31 August, left out over 1.9 million people. More than 200 delegates of 35 RSS affiliates attended the coordination meeting, the first such after the Lok Sabha election. BJP working president JP Nadda, and general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were among those present.