Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma, has anticipated a surge of applications for Indian citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the state, estimating a range of three to five lakh applicants.
Sarma clarified that this figure predominantly comprises individuals who were omitted from the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Speaking to a local television channel, Sarma elucidated that the excluded applicants encompass approximately 7 lakh Muslims and 5 lakh Hindu-Bengalis, among others, from the NRC list.
“Many Hindu-Bengalis had come at different points of time and stayed at refugee camps. When they applied for inclusion in NRC, they submitted a stamped paper as proof of having stayed at such camps.
He attributed the exclusion of many Hindu-Bengalis to a contentious issue surrounding the acceptance of stamped papers as proof of residence in refugee camps during the NRC application process, overseen by former state coordinator Prateek Hajela.
Sarma highlighted the predicament faced by numerous Hindu-Bengalis who were denied inclusion in the NRC due to the rejection of stamped papers, precipitating their inclination to seek recourse under the provisions of the CAA or pursue legal avenues.
Applicants excluded from the NRC also include 2 lakh ‘proper Assamese’ like those having the Das (surname), the 'Koch-Rajbongshi' (community) and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas, the CM claimed.
“Applications under the CAA will be three-five lakh, with a 10 percent margin of error. There won’t be any 15 or 18 or 20 lakh or 1.5 crore applicants in Assam. After being in politics for so long, I have that much grip on the state,” the BJP leader asserted.
The Assam CM underscored that the projected applications under the CAA would range from three to five lakh, with a minor margin of error, debunking claims of inflated figures.
Dispelling speculation, Sarma rebuffed assertions of an exorbitant number of applicants, asserting his firm grasp on the state's political dynamics derived from years of experience.
The NRC, monitored by the Supreme Court, was unveiled on August 31, 2019, excluding 19 lakh individuals out of 3.4 crore applicants.
Notably, the recent implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act by the Centre, four years post its parliamentary passage, aims to expedite citizenship for undocumented non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India prior to December 31, 2014.
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