Assam Demands NRC Inclusion in Election Roll Revision Process

Officials in Assam have requested that the Election Commission (EC) consider the National Register of Citizens (NRC) during the upcoming Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. As the only Indian state to complete the NRC exercise, Assam’s government argues that the final NRC should be classified as a valid document for voter eligibility when determining the timeframes and necessary documentation for the SIR, according to The Indian Express.

This request arises amid ongoing controversy surrounding the SIR in Bihar, where opposition parties claim the process has transformed into a citizenship verification exercise, likening it to an “NRC through the backdoor.” They assert that this approach exceeds the EC’s mandate. Assam’s officials made their appeal following the EC’s announcement of a nationwide intensive revision of electoral rolls, which began with Bihar and could potentially delay the SIR in Assam.

The unresolved status of the NRC remains a significant issue. This initiative, monitored by the Supreme Court, aims to address longstanding demographic concerns in Assam. Since the release of the draft NRC in 2019, which excluded approximately 1.96 million out of 33 million applicants, the Registrar General of India has not officially notified the final version. Successive governments led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have criticized the current NRC, deeming it unacceptable.

Originally designed to distinguish Indian citizens from undocumented migrants in a politically sensitive region, the NRC has faced substantial scrutiny. The Assam government contends that the list contains considerable errors, notably excluding many “indigenous people” while including numerous “foreigners.” Officials assert that the actual number of individuals who entered Assam illegally after the NRC’s cut-off date of March 24, 1971, is significantly greater than 1.9 million.

Before the finalization of the 2019 NRC, the Central and state governments raised the issue of reverification, which the Supreme Court ultimately denied. On July 23, 2019, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi noted evidence submitted by NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela, indicating that 27% of reverification had already been conducted during the claims and objections process. Consequently, the court ruled that further sample reverification was unnecessary.

Despite this, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma stated during a special Assembly session last month that the state government is pursuing 20% reverification in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10% in the remaining districts. Sarma emphasized that the NRC data, which has undergone both verification and reverification, would serve as a reliable document to prove citizenship and should be included in the intensive revision process.

A query directed to the EC regarding Assam’s request for electoral roll revision went unanswered. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sarma indicated that no formal “correspondence” with the EC has occurred on this matter. The EC’s decision to initiate the intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar has faced political opposition, with some parties challenging the move in the Supreme Court.

The controversy primarily revolves around the documentation voters must provide, especially those registered after 2003, to prove their age and citizenship. The year 2003 marks the last intensive revision in Bihar, where individuals listed during that period are presumed citizens and eligible for inclusion in the updated rolls. Petitioners have contested the EC’s authority to verify citizenship and have raised concerns about the timing and procedure of the current exercise.

While the Supreme Court declined to halt the revision process, it urged the EC to consider additional identification methods such as Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards alongside its original list of acceptable documents, which includes government-issued IDs, educational certificates, caste certificates, and the NRC where applicable.