Will NRC be updated in Assam?

GUWAHATI, Dec 27: How long will the State Government and the Centre flip-flop on the issue of National Register of Citizens (NRC) update? More often than not, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi claims the credit for the beginning of NRC update work in the State under his government, but the Chief Minister cannot say when the task will be completed. The tripartite talks held on May 5, 2005 in New Delhi involving the Centre represented by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Assam Government represented by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) leaders had decided to update the NRC in Assam within two years, i.e. by September, 2007. Four years have elapsed, but the main work on NRC update has not started as yet.

Sources said various hurdles may crop up when the government will go to the field and interact with people on NRC update. The works done so far in this regard are preliminary in nature.

Replying to a question from AGP MLA Alaka Sarma, Assam Accord Implementation Minister Bhumidhar Barman told the Assam Assembly in its recent session that NRC update works would be completed by March 31, 2010. However, as things stand, the State Government will fail to meet the deadline this time also.

The third party to the May 5, 2005 tripartite talks, AASU, also seems to have basked in the satisfaction over the Centre’s decision to update the NRC in the State. The AASU has not been putting pressure on the Centre for NRC update the way it should have been.

Political pundits in the State say that the State Government may resort to a poll gimmick with the NRC update issue yet again. It is still fresh in the minds of the people of Assam that before the 2006 Assembly polls in the State, the State Government had created the separate Directorate for NRC update by giving additional responsibilities for it to some officials of the Home and Political departments. The reality in the NRC directorate is that it has less than ten employees. Surprisingly, for about two months, it has been working without any director. Will the government be able to meet the March 31, 2010 deadline? Does the AASU know that the NRC Directorate has been without a director for about two months? THE SENTINEL