Guwahati: “Even Ram bhakts do not have Aadhaar cards (in Assam),” state Congress MLA Kamalakhya Dey Purkayastha said Monday, questioning the government’s failure to secure the unique ID for lakhs of people who were left out of the final National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The NRC exercise to weed out illegal immigrants has left at least 27 lakh people in Assam staring at uncertainty as their names are not in the final list. Biometrics of those who were excluded are frozen, rendering them incapable of enrolling for the Aadhaar, a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the central government.
However, even those who have been included, after the claims and objections process, still have their biometric details suspended.
Speaking in the ongoing budget session of the state legislative assembly, Dey asked: “The state government says the final NRC has not been published yet. Over 27 lakh people could not get their Aadhaar registration done because the biometric data collected during the NRC process remains frozen… The situation is such that they cannot apply for jobs, not even avail ration cards…”
“Lord Ram symbolises truth, faith — but the Ram bhakts too don’t have Aadhaar cards. They are deprived of their rights. When will Aadhaar be made available?” Purkayastha asked.
In response, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma remarked that the government has been doing certain things for “Ram bhakts”, which would also include Aadhaar cards.
“We are trying to gradually find a solution to the matter, and I believe, be it Ram bhakt or any Indian citizen, or those who are eligible to be citizens of India, we are committed to solving their problem, and very soon, it should hopefully be resolved,” said Sarma.
“The problem is — when we would do certain things for the Ram bhakts to resolve this issue, those on your (MLA Purkayastha’s) left and right would be the first to object. I would request them not to oppose the Ram bhakts then,” he added.
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‘Final NRC not officially notified’
Explaining the process behind Aadhaar registration and how biometric details of NRC applicants remain frozen, the CM said the central government has not “officially notified” the final NRC as the primary means of identification of Indian citizens living in Assam.
“We know that the NRC has been done, and the final process is also over, but the final NRC has not been notified yet by the President of India,” the CM said.
The Aadhaar registration process had resumed in Assam in June 2020 under standard operating procedures issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the Aadhaar. Earlier, the exercise had remained suspended owing to COVID-19.
Published on 31 August, 2019, the final NRC had excluded 19.22 lakh people out of nearly 3.3 crore applicants — 6 per cent of Assam’s population. But many of those whose names featured in the final NRC suffered difficulties in registering for the Aadhaar as they were earlier excluded from the draft version of the NRC published in July 2018. As many as 40,07,707 persons found that their names had been left out.
Another Additional Draft Exclusions List was published on 26 June, 2019, in which a little over 1.02 lakh people were excluded.
The final NRC was published taking into account all the objections and claims.
Sarma stated that out of 27 lakh people whose biometrics were collected during the NRC updation process, almost 17 lakh would be eligible for Aadhaar after claims and objections were heard, but the remaining 10 lakh not included in the final list would remain disadvantaged.
“In the draft NRC phase, the Supreme Court had directed us (the state government) to collect biometrics for 27 lakh people and we had done so. Thereafter, the apex court on 13/8/2019 had passed an order that the data should be secured, and after this, the ones who are included in the NRC would get their Aadhaar,” said the CM.
He added that those left out of the final NRC would also get their Aadhaar registration, but only after judgments in Foreigners’ Tribunals recognised them as eligible for the same.
On 13 August, 2019, during the NRC updating exercise, the Supreme Court had rejected the government’s demand to reopen and re-verify the NRC data and ordered that the list of those excluded from the final Assam NRC be only published online. The hard copies of lists of inclusions and exclusions were to be provided at district offices.
A Supreme Court bench comprising then Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R.F. Nariman had also said that like the Aadhaar data, an appropriate regime be enacted for securing the Assam NRC data.
“The SC had also directed that information related to the NRC should be secured. We had informed the Centre how this can be done based on the technology we have. Both these topics are under discussion with the central government,” said Sarma adding: “We had constituted a cabinet committee that had held discussions with various stakeholders and organisations, including AASU (All Assam Students’ Union), and concluded that till the time the NRC is not finalised, the ones who have their names in the final NRC can avail Aadhaar.”
“After these decisions, the Registrar General of India (RGI) should notify the NRC so that we can proceed to the next step. But till date, the government of India has not officially notified the NRC,” he further said.
‘Not about Hindus, Muslims or Christians’
Asserting that the state government was in “informal discussions” with the Centre, Sarma stated that he could not give the details yet, but elaborated on how the Supreme Court had directed the central government to release an “office memorandum” to provide some respite to the deprived lot who failed to register for the Aadhaar, but added that there has been no progress in this aspect.
He mentioned that there is hope of “partial relief”, and if need be, the state would approach the Supreme Court in future over the matter.
While the NRC process started in 2013, the actual exercise to update it began in February 2015 under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court.
“State government cannot do certain things without the SC’s direction, maybe we would all need to approach the SC in the future… We cannot oppose or surpass SC orders and issue directives to Aadhaar authorities. The final call rests with the SC, but we are in deliberate discussions with the Centre,” said Sarma.
Another opposition MLA remarked: “Please include Rahim bhakt and Jesus bhakt in it (Aadhaar registration) too. A secular party should not just talk about Ram bhakts.”
“The question was directed towards Ram bhakt and I responded likewise,” said the CM.
“This issue is not about Hindus, Muslims and Christians, but all poor people. It upsets me that we have not been able to give free rice to many… There is no problem in getting state government schemes, but central government schemes need Aadhaar numbers,” Sarma said.
“We do politics, but not everywhere,” he added.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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