7 lakh Muslims, 5 lakh Bengali Hindus left out of Assam NRC, says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Assam published a National Register of Citizens on August 31, 2019, with the aim to separate Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday said that 7 lakh Muslims and 5 lakh Bengali Hindus have been left out of the National Register of Citizens for the state, News Live reported.
Sarma, during an interview with the television channel, added that 2 lakh Assamese caste Hindus and 1.5 lakh Gorkhas had also been excluded from the list.
Assam published a National Register of Citizens on August 31, 2019, with the aim to separate Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in the state. Residents had to prove that they or their ancestors had entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971 in order for them to be included in the list.
Over 19 lakh persons, or 5.77% of the applicants, were left out of the final list.
Sarma had told The Indian Express at the time that nearly five lakh to six lakh of those excluded had migrated from Bangladesh due to religious persecution before 1971.
On Sunday, the chief minister said that 3 to 6 lakh of those excluded from the register could apply for citizenship under the Citizenship Amendment Act, the rules for which were notified on March 11.
The Citizenship Amendment Act aims to fast-track Indian citizenship for refugees from six minority religious communities, except Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and...
