New Delhi: The Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) today urged the Coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), Mr Prateek Hajela to withdraw re-verification notices issued to fully comply with the Supreme Court order on 13.08.2019 in which the apex court stated that “The entire NRC exercise having been performed …. cannot now be ordered to be reopened”. Thousands of people of Assam have been issued notices for-re-verification in August 2019 despite being included in the Draft NRC published on 30th July 2018.
“If those included in the Draft NRC of July 2018 are excluded from the final NRC to be published on 31.08.2019 based on re-verification recently initiated, it shall be willful disobedience of the Supreme Court order and the NRC Coordinator Mr Hajela shall remain open to contempt of court charges.”- warned Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of the RAAG.“The NRC effectively treats each and every residents of Assam as a suspected “non-citizen”, puts the onus of proving each resident of Assam as an Indian citizen by proving that his/her grand-father was a citizen of India with documents admissible as per the Indian Evidence Act and finally punishes every person who fails to establish the same whether because of negligence, carelessness, poverty, illiteracy, mistake or any other act irrespective of whether committed by the NRC officials, the person concerned or his/her forefathers”.– further stated Mr Chakma.
In the Draft National Register of Citizens published on 30th July 2018, a total number of 40,70,707 persons were not found eligible for inclusion. Another 1,02,462 persons were excluded from the Draft NRC on 26 June 2019. The final NRC shall be published on 31st August 2019.
