The second and final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was officially published at 10am on Monday. The much-awaited draft of the NRC was released by Registrar General of India Sailesh, along with officials of the state and Central governments. Sailesh said the draft NRC excludes nearly 40 lakh people, noting “2,89,83,677 out of 3.29 crore applicants were found eligible [as citizens].”
During the release of the NRC draft, officials reiterated that there was no need for panic among those who were excluded as they would have opportunities to appeal and file objections. Officials declared there would be no deportations based on the NRC draft.
Satyendra Garg, joint secretary of the MHA, who was present at the release of the draft NRC, said, there would be no question of referring anyone to the Foreigners Tribunal or sending people to detention centres.
Prateek Hajela, the coordinator for the NRC, had earlier explained to THE WEEK that the draft NRC would be a "completed, not final" draft.
The Central and state governments have deployed 220 companies of paramilitary forces to different parts of Assam to deal with possible unrest. In the first draft of the NRC, published on December 31, 1.9 crore applicants were deemed eligible.
The NRC is being updated with March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date for legitimate claims to Indian citizenship in Assam. Assam is the only state in the country having an NRC, which was first prepared in 1951.