Assam urges ECI to consider NRC while revising electoral rolls
What's the story
The Assam government has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider the National Register of Citizens (NRC) while revising electoral rolls, the Indian Express reported. The request comes as the ECI conducts a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. Officials said that since Assam is the only state that has completed an NRC exercise, it wants this factored into eligibility documents for SIR in its state.
Potential delay
Delay likely in SIR
If the ECI accepts Assam's request to include the NRC as an admissible document, it could delay the state's SIR since its NRC remains in abeyance. The draft NRC published in 2019 excluded 19.6 lakh people from 3.3 crore applicants, but it has not yet been notified by the Registrar General of India.
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List excludes many 'indigenous people'
The Assam government states that the inclusions and exclusions in it are erroneous, and the number of people who entered the state illegally after March 24, 1974, is far higher than 19 lakh, the figure that the draft NRC has found. The state government also argues that the current list excludes many "indigenous people" while including a substantial number of "foreigners."
CM's stance
CM Sarma's stand on draft NRC
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has been critical of the draft NRC published in 2019, told the state Assembly last month that the state government is seeking a reverification of lists in districts bordering Bangladesh and other areas. A source in the Assam government indicated that the NRC is expected to be released in a month or two, "most likely by October," The Indian Express reported.
Opposition criticism
Opposition slams ECI
The opposition has slammed the ECI's Bihar SIR exercise, calling it a "de-facto citizenship verification exercise" and accusing it of introducing "NRC through the backdoor." Opposing it, many petitions were filed in the Supreme Court, which last week declined to restrain the ECI from proceeding with the revision but suggested considering Aadhaar, voter ID cards, and other documents for updating rolls.