The fact that the process won’t be completed before the Lok Sabha elections suits the BJP politically.
New Delhi: A long-drawn process, likely to take over six months, awaits over 30 out of the 40 lakh people in Assam who were left out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as they filed their claims by the 31 December deadline for inclusion in the list.
Given the issue has become a social and political hot potato, it will give the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a talking point in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to ask to be voted back to power to complete the process.
According to sources in the Assam government, around 32-33 lakh of those left out of the earlier lists filed claims by 31 December, but the final figure will be available only after tabulation.
Also read: NRC may cost 30 lakh people their right to vote, officials say
The process
The NRC, first published after the 1951 Census, is now being updated in a Supreme Court-monitored exercise keeping 24 March, 1971 as the cut-off to essentially identify those who immigrated to Assam illegally from Bangladesh after that date.
The purpose of the process is to tell genuine Indian citizens in Assam from the illegal immigrants.
The first draft of the list was released on 31 December 2017, and the final draft on 30 July 2018. Of the total of 3.29 crore applicants, 2.9 crore found their names on the list.
The process of claims and objections followed. To be sure, the two are separate issues.
While claims for inclusion can be filed by any of the 40 lakh left out of the list, objections can be filed against the inclusion of any of the 2.9 crore people by any individual.
The latter has been a minuscule number, with only 2.6 lakh objections — around 1 per cent — received.
What next?
For those who have filed claims, a process of re-verification will begin. However, sources in the government say this will be an “extensive hearings-based process”. The process of verification of the claims and objections received will begin from 15 February.
The final list will be referred to the Foreigners Tribunal, and those left out can appeal to the courts.
The fate of those still left out is presently unclear with discussions going on about the possibilities. Given the humanitarian and diplomatic impact of the issue, options will have to be considered cautiously.
However, the fate of the around 7-8 lakh people who have not filed for claims is the big question. Officials in Assam say it would appear most of these people were indeed illegal immigrants and hence, didn’t re-apply. While they are “practically out of the NRC”, they can’t “technically” be labelled as non-genuine citizens till the final process is over, add officials.
The Registrar General of India (RGI) in a notification said the entire process will be completed by 30 June. Officials, however, peg the duration of the entire process to last around 7-8 months.
Also read: For BJP, NRC has become the national register of convenience
The politics
The BJP — in power at both the Centre and the state — has constantly upped the ante on NRC, with its president Amit Shah claiming “each infiltrator will be identified and thrown out”.
The party’s critics believe that this helps BJP further its Hindutva agenda, especially since it has been pushing for citizenship to Hindu refugees through the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
Politically, the fact that the process won’t be completed before the Lok Sabha polls suits the BJP, enabling it to go to voters and asking to be voted back so it can fulfil the mandate.