Guwahati: The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was considered to be an exercise that may have brought an end to the four-decade-old politics of foreigners in Assam, but just before its final publication most political parties in the state, including the ruling BJP, have started questioning its credibility, saying that it may not be error-free.
State BJP leaders said the government might adopt legislative measures to correct the “anomalies” in the final NRC after it is published.
While no specific measures were spelt out, it is speculated the Centre may pass the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016 in Parliament.
The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which spearheaded the 1979-1985 Assam agitation against foreigners and sacrificed 855 lives, which culminated in the signing of the Assam Accord, also accused the BJP of pushing its political agenda instead of seeking the greater good of the Assamese people.
“Earlier, the BJP used to accuse the Congress of appeasing Muslims for votebank politics. Now they are doing the same thing with Hindus. We should respect the NRC process, which is being monitored by the SC, but instead of a permanent solution, the BJP wants to keep the foreigners’ issue alive,” said AASU general secretary Lurinjyoti Gogoi.
