On Wednesday, Assam cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss the issue of NRC implementation in the state and said that ‘good news’ regarding the same was coming soon.
Happy to spend this #NewYear afternoon with Sri @AmitShah whom I adore for his clear thoughts. Had a long discussion with him about identity issues of Assamese, aspirations of our tribals community and strengthening nationalist thought process in NE. Will hear some good news soon
— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) January 1, 2020
“Had a long discussion with him (Shah) about identity issues of Assamese, aspirations of our tribal communities and strengthening nationalist thought process in Northeast. Will hear some good news soon,” Sarma tweeted.
A meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders chaired by its president and Home Minister Amit Shah was held at the party headquarters on Wednesday to discuss the issues regarding CAA outreach programme. Senior leader Sarma was also present at the meeting.
Allaying the fears of Assamese population on rumours that 1.3 crore people will come to Assam following the passage of Citizenship Amendment Act, Sarma recently reiterated that 5.4 lakh people will be eligible for citizenship in the state under the new law.
Amidst protests in certain parts of Assam against the Citizenship Amendment Act, Himanta Biswa Sarma had recently expressed hope that BJP would come back to power in the state in 2021 assembly polls by winning at least 100 out of 126 assembly seats.
The process to update the NRC began in Assam following a Supreme Court order in 2013, with the state’s nearly 33 million people having to prove that they were Indian nationals prior to March 24, 1971. The updated final NRC was released on August 31, with over 1.9 million applicants failing to make it to the list.
However, the fate of the Assam NRC has been in limbo since then after Home Minister Amit Shah told Parliament in November that a fresh NRC for Assam will be conducted along with a nationwide NRC.
The Assam government has also said that if a pan-India NRC does not happen then the state will approach the Supreme Court and the NRC in its presence will not be accepted under any circumstance.
