Assam Gorkhas' NRC fear....... SC MONITORING NOT REFLECTED IN VERIFICATION:ASSOCIATION

TT, 1 July 2019, Guwahati: The Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, an organisation representing around 25 lakh-strong Gorkhas in Assam, on Sunday expressed doubt whether the Supreme Court's monitoring over the National Register of Citizen's update exercise has been reflected on seva kendras that verify an applicant's eligibility for their inclusion in the updated register.

Addressing a news conference here, the organisation expressed concern over the presence of members of martyrs' families and writers in the NRC exclusion list published on June 26.

It said the name of Nirmala Devi, sister-in-law of Bajyanti Devi, a Gorkha girl known to be the first woman martyr of the Assam Agitation, featured in the exclusion list. The family hails from Sonitpur in central Assam.

Ironically, Nirmala's husband Rajen Upadhyay, an employee of the state social welfare department, was assigned The organisation members in Guwahati on Sunday. Picture by UB Photos in NRC hearings for claims and objections in Tezpur. He told The Telegraph that Nirmala used her parental lineage and the names of all members of her parents' family were included in the draft. Names of Upadhyay's two sons were excluded in the draft.

The organisation said Manju Devi, the great granddaughter of freedom fighter Chabilal Upadhyay, founder of the Congress in Assam, has also been left out of the NRC update process despite prov- ing her parental lineage. "She was told during the last draft that she had been marked as a doubtful voter in 2005. Therefore, her application has been rejected along with her sons and daughters. Manju Devi said she had enquired about the matter with border police and got a clearance certificate from Sonitpur superintendent of police. She had taken up the matter with the district's Election Commission branch too and submitted a copy of the clearance certificate but all went in vain.

If this continues, she cannot include herself in the final register. The foreigners tribunal so far has not issued any notice to Manju Devi," said Nanda Kirati Dewan, national secretary (youth affairs) of the Parisangh, said.

"Putting the name of the Sahitya Akademi awardee and president of the Assam Nepali Sahitya Sabha Durga Khatiwara's name in the latest NRC exclusion list is another instance. This is not only disrespect to the Gorkhas but an insult to the freedom fighters and martyrs of the nation. We wonder whether the Supreme Court's monitoring has been reflected in seva kendras," he said.

Dewan said certified copies that explain logical exclusion of the freedom fighters will be sought from the seva kendras and submitted to the Supreme Court.

Prakash Dahal, general secretary of the organisation, said, "It's a blot on Assam's foreigner-free movement that the family of the first woman martyr of the Assam Agitation has been excluded from the NRC.".