Guwahati: Assam’s Opposition and CLP leader Debabrata Saikia on Monday wrote to four chief ministers of the northeast requesting them to ensure no visitors or settlers from Assam are harassed in their respective states on the “mere suspicion of their being illegal migrants”.

Saikia’s request to chief ministers of Arunchal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram was triggered by reports about citizen/student groups in these states taking steps to check influx from Assam after the complete and final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) did not contain names of 40.07 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants.

“I am quite distressed to see news reports about the government machinery of your state, in concert with local students’ organisations, restricting the entry of visitors from Assam and setting deadlines for the exit of long-term inhabitants and treating them like declared foreigners following the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in our state and exclusion of about 40 lakh names from the document,” Saikia wrote.

On Saturday, the Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had spoken to his Meghalaya counterpart, Conrad Sangma, and requested him to take urgent measures for ensuring smooth movement of people and vehicles of Assam passing through Meghalaya. “The chief minister informed Sangma that the harassment caused to the people of Assam has also been brought to the notice of the Union home minister Rajnath Singh and sought Sangma’s expeditious intervention,” said a statement from chief minister’s office.

Sonowal made the call following reports about Khasi Students Union members stopping vehicles from Assam and checked documents following publication of draft NRC. Sangma assured necessary steps, said the statement.

The neighbouring states fear that those left out could sneak into the neighbouring states to escape detection. The groups in the neighbouring states have also raised the demand for updating the 1951 NRC.

Saikia also said many names of the over 40 lakh omissions from the final draft are the result of technicalities and they are likely to be included in the final NRC after they establish their credentials during the claims and objections phase. “This section also includes numerous people who settled in Assam from other states of India but were excluded the final draft because the states of their origin failed to respond in time to verification queries sent by the state NRC authority,” he said.

Saikia had on Sunday written to all chief ministers of the country to “personally” ensure that all queries pertaining to verification of documents for inclusion in the NRC be “processed” and “sent back” from their respective states and Union territories “as soon as possible”.

Monday’s letters to the chief ministers also highlighted the July 31 Supreme Court’s order, and a Union minister Rajnath Singh statement later, that those excluded from the final draft of the NRC were not to be treated as foreigners till such time as the claims and objections phase is completed and the final NRC is published, that the draft list “cannot be the basis of action by any authority”.

Singh also said that “even after the Final NRC, every person will get an opportunity to approach the Foreigners Tribunal”.

Saikia said such reported “vigilantism” could adversely impact the fraternal bonds between the governments and people of our respective states and create a backlash in the days to come”. He called for the launch of an immediate awareness campaign in these states overv the apex court and Singh’s stand on those not included in the draft list.

” This apart, it is also imperative to take the local social and students’ organizations into confidence so that the trend of viewing every person from Assam as an illegal migrant is abandoned forthwith,”Saikia said.

News Source Telegraph India