Hajela releases a Bangla bulletin; urges people not to panic if names are missing from NRC final draft

Whenever someone says NRC final draft, it automatically gets us worried. The word, “final” means “coming to an end” or “the last one” or “the decider”. The entire Assam in general, and Barak Valley, in particular, is eagerly waiting for the final draft of the National Register of Citizens scheduled to be published on July 30, 2018.

A lot of names are expected to be left out of the draft, and that can lead to a catastrophe. This is why all the government machineries, since the last few days have devoted themselves to educate people about various procedures. Today, Prateek Hajela, state coordinator of NRC in Assam released a video bulletin. In the video, Hajela explains how the final draft is not the end of the day. He says the ones missing from the draft will be given adequate time to appeal in the court. He also informed through the video that if some names are misspelled, the person can appeal for a correction.

Another important aspect that came out from the video is the option of raising an objection. If someone feels a non-deserving applicant has made it to the NRC, he or she can raise an objection too. Hajela mentioned that when and where the forms for the appeal, object or correction would be available will be announced soon

The deputy commissioner of Cachar, S Lakshmanan shared the video on Cachar district’s official Facebook page. It is worth mentioning here that there are many rumours and speculations doing rounds on social media. Many stories are written on the subject too. No one knows what is at stake and what is waiting ahead. Therefore panic and confusion are natural. In such a scenario, this video will certainly educate and generate awareness.

The first draft was published on December 31, 2017, with names of 1.9 crore people out of the 3.29 crore total applicants in Assam.