This story is from November 22, 2017

NRC delay will lead to chaos: Mahanta

Former chief minister and senior AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Tuesday asked the government to complete the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update process on a war footing.
NRC delay will lead to chaos: Mahanta
GUWAHATI: Former chief minister and senior AGP leader Prafulla Kumar Mahanta on Tuesday asked the government to complete the National Register of Citizens (NRC) update process on a war footing.
Opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which aims to grant citizenship to people belonging to religious and linguistic minorities from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Mahanta added, “If the bill gets passed in Parliament, it will be in total violation of the Assam Accord, based on which the NRC is being updated.
So, any delay in the update process and publication of the NRC draft will only create chaos.”
Mahanta’s reaction comes in the wake of the Registrar General of India (RGI) seeking more time from the Supreme Court to publish the NRC draft. Though the deadline was December 31, the RGI informed the apex court that it cannot publish the draft before July, 2018. According to the NRC office, out of 3.21 crore applications, 2 crore have been verified so far. The former CM said when the NRC update process is on to detect illegal settlers in the state, the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill will virtually negate its very purpose. Mahanta also hinted at deterioration of AGP’s ties with BJP over the issue.
Last week, Mahanta met Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi and requested him to expedite the NRC update process. He also discussed the Naga Framework Agreement and the Assam Accord and demanded immediate holding of tripartite talks on the three issues. “The people of the state are apprehending that the Naga agreement may alter the territorial integrity of the state. The Centre should reveal the content of the agreement to clear doubts,” he said.
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