Bhupen Goswami
Guwahati: Jamiyat Ulema-e Hind (JUH) has alleged that the game of keeping Muslims out of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam is going on. The Juh has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court against the new order of state coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma on NRC plea says that Sarma had issued a notification on 13th October to all the distillate Registrar of Citizen Registration (DRSR) of the state. He said that it has come to the notice that the names of many illegal citizens and their ancestors have been made in the NRC, which are either suspicious or not voters or who have been declared foreign nationals. He has asked the names of such people to be removed from the final list of NRC.
The Juh has said that last year, when the list of NRC was partially lighted, the state Government had sought re-verification of those whose relatives ‘ names were not in the list. But the Supreme Court rejected their demand and said that there was no need for re-verification or NRC. Although Jamiyat Ulema-e-Hind has filed an appeal to the Supreme Court to put the de-voter on hold, the state coordinator says he cannot be put on hold. He is a foreigner, so his name should be removed from the NRC. Maulana Arshad Madani said the BJP government is making a new conspiracy to flush out Muslims. It may be mentioned that it is the same Hasish Dev Sharma who was famous for his disputed statements about the citizenship of Assam before becoming a state coordinator. Shortly after he became the state coordinator, Jamiyat Ulema-e-Hind filed a petition in the Supreme Court questioning his appointment, arguing that Shri Sharma was not impartial and had already made headlines with his inflammatory statements. If they have targeted a certain section, how can such a person be given such an important responsibility as a state coordinator?
The Apex court had sought a response from the centre and the Assam government but no response has been filed by them so far. Reacting to the developments in the deemed citizenship issue, Maulana Syed Arshad Madani, president of Jamuyat Ulema-e-Hind, said that communal forces had failed in Assam. That is why they are now deliberately trying to establish communal alignment by creating an atmosphere of fear once again in the state. He said that during the entire NRC process, these forces tried to disrupt in various ways, but on every occasion, jamiyat Ulema-e-Hind did not allow their intentions to succeed, and now the new state coordinators have come up with a new story. Jamuyat Ulema-e-Hind is also going to the Supreme Court with full readiness against it. Maulana Madani said that Jamuyat Ulema-e-Hind will take up the court case to challenge the appointment of the first new coordinator, which is pending since last January. He also said that everything about the NRC has become clear like milk. In such a case, adopting such a new strategy shows that there are loopholes in their intentions and such notification has been issued only under a particular scheme.
Maulana Madani said that the first vision is a clear violation of the direction given by the Supreme Court from time to time. He clarified that as per our information, about 1.9 million people have been left out of the NRC, among them a large number of people who are genuine citizens of Assam. They have all the documents, but still their names are not in the NRC. In such a way, the State Coordinator should have ensured their access to the legal process. The Supreme Court has also clarified that all such people should be given an opportunity to prove their citizenship, but instead of doing so, the new state coordinators are going to take measures to expel those nominated from the NRC. Who have already joined the NRC. Jamat Ulema-e-Hind will not allow it to happen and fight firmly.
