Guwahati, March 26 (IANS) Assam BJP president Dilip Saikia on Thursday said the state unit of the ruling party “completely rejects” the existing National Register of Citizens (NRC), asserting that the party favours a fresh and error-free exercise to address long-standing concerns over illegal immigration in the state.

“We have rejected the NRC in its present form. We will bring a new NRC,” Saikia told reporters, aligning his remarks with recent statements made by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who has also flagged serious anomalies in the updated citizens’ register published in 2019.

The NRC, which was updated under the supervision of the Supreme Court, had excluded over 19 lakh applicants, triggering widespread debate and political reactions across Assam. However, the exercise has remained contentious, with both inclusion and exclusion errors alleged by different sections of society.

Chief Minister Sarma, in recent weeks, reiterated that the current NRC is “flawed” and does not reflect ground realities, pointing to cases where genuine Indian citizens were left out while suspected illegal migrants were included. He has advocated a more accurate mechanism, suggesting that the process needs to be revisited to ensure justice and transparency.

Saikia’s remarks come amid renewed political focus on the issue ahead of the upcoming elections, with the BJP positioning itself as committed to safeguarding Assam’s demographic and cultural identity. He emphasised that a corrected NRC would be carried out in accordance with constitutional provisions and in the interest of indigenous people.

Opposition parties, however, have criticised the BJP’s stance, accusing it of politicising the NRC issue for electoral gains and creating uncertainty among residents.

The NRC has been a politically sensitive issue in Assam for decades, rooted in the Assam Accord of 1985, which set March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for detection and deportation of illegal foreigners.

With fresh statements from BJP leaders, the debate around the NRC is expected to intensify in the run-up to the elections.

–IANS

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