Pan India NRC to exclude more Muslims: Badruddin Ajmal

Guwahati, November 21 (IANS) A day after Union Home minister Amit Shah announced that pan India National Register of Citizens (NRC) will include Assam as well, Chief of All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) Badruddin Ajmal said that the ruling party is unable to digest that a large number of Muslims have made it to the final NRC.

Ajmal, who is a Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri constituency, said this on Thursday while talking to newsmen and added that the BJP is unhappy as large numbers of Bengali Hindus, Koch Rajbonshi and Buddhist people were excluded from NRC due to non acceptance of refugee certificate issued prior to 1971.

The final NRC published on August 31 this year had left 19,06,657 people outside the citizens' registry, triggering large scale unhappiness.

The BJP government in Assam has welcomed the Union Minister's announcement about a pan India NRC and said that the BJP as well as the Assam government has not accepted the final NRC published on August 31.

"BJP is not happy as large numbers of Muslims in Assam could make it to the NRC with all their relevant documents relating to their citizenship," Ajmal said terming the latest announcement as a political move to exclude more Muslims from the proposed NRC.

"Otherwise what could be the reasons for NRC again after spending about Rs 1,600 Crore for the exercise and engaging over 50,000 government employees in the exercise," he said.

The LOk Sabha MP further said that many people even died while standing in queues for NRC hearings and many committed suicides after not finding names in the draft NRC.