Unfinished Task

The BJP will have to address many concerns before making any electoral gains from the removal of 40 lakh people from the NRC

- Rabi Banerjee

ASSAM REMAINED SILENT, while the rest of India shouted itself hoarse about the exclusion of more than 40 lakh people from the draft National Register of Citizens. The political parties were the loudest. While the Trinamool Congress and the other opposition parties lambasted the BJP for using the NRC for electoral gains, the saffron party has already made it an issue in the Rajasthan assembly election.

In Assam, however, the BJP is in two minds. It did not expect the list to exclude so many Hindus. Himanta Biswa Sarma, health and finance minister, echoed the concern. “It’s a computer-generated figure,” he told THE WEEK. “Many people’s roots were not established in Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal or Bhutan, or any other parts of India. So, their names did not figure in. Even many local Assamese people’s roots could not be established. Does that mean that we will brand them as foreigners?”

Not all of them, apparently. “No, I am not batting for 40 lakh people,” said Sarma. “I am neither in favour of them nor against them. Our endeavour is to trace the true foreigners in Assam as asked by the Supreme Court of India.”

The Supreme Court, however, was not impressed. It criticised the NRC officials—Registrar General Sailesh and NRC coordinator in Assam Prateek Hajela—for publishing the details before submitting it to the court. “Both of you committed contempt of court. Should we send you to the jail? You should both be punished,” said the division bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Rohinton Nariman.