NEW DELHI: Eight days before the National Register of Citizens (
NRC) is published in
Assam, home minister
Rajnath Singh has assured people of the state that it was only a draft on which people could file claims and objections.
Stating that there shall be sufficient opportunity to seek all remedies under the law, he underlined that no person would be harassed or put in a detention centre after publication of the NRC.
“Government wants to make it clear that the NRC to be published on July 30 is only a draft. After draft publication, adequate opportunity for claims and objections will be available. All claims and objections will be duly examined. Adequate opportunity of being heard will be given before disposal of claims and objections. Only thereafter, final NRC will be published,” Singh said in a statement put out by the home ministry on Sunday.
The NRC is being updated in Assam as per provisions of the
Assam Accord signed on August 15, 1985. The entire process is being carried out as per directions of the Supreme Court which is monitoring the process.
Singh sought to assure the people of Assam that the NRC exercise was being carried out in a “totally impartial, transparent and meticulous manner and will continue to be so”. “At every stage of the process, adequate opportunity of being heard is given to all persons,” he said.