NEW DELHI / GUWAHATI
AIUDF chief and MP Badruddin Ajmal today demanded that the second list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) should be published as soon as possible, even as former chief minister, Tarun Gogoi alleged that the NRC process will be rendered meaningless, if the Citizenship (amendment) Bill is passed.
Two-time Lok Sabha MP Ajmal, whose name was missing from the first draft NRC, said that in all names of seven MPs and MLAs belonging to his Party were missing. But when asked for his reaction on publication of the first draft, he said that he was more or less satisfied.
“We want peace in Assam,” he said appealing to the people to exercise restraint and wait for publication of the second draft NRC.
Ajmal’s reaction came, even as former chief minister, Tarun Gogoi described the first draft NRC as an example of callousness, inefficiency and negligence, as names of legislators, prominent citizens were missing.
Meanwhile, talking to this newspaper, Ajmal said they were not very anxious not to find their names in the first draft. “Let the second draft come and even then if our names are missing we still have the option of knocking on the doors of the court,” he said.
However, when asked if he considered it as a conspiracy, he said he would not like to comment.
“We are very clear that there is no intervention of the State Government and the Ministry of Home Affairs because the NRC exercise is going-on under the supervision of the Supreme Court,” Ajmal said.
“Nobody should be apprehensive, we don’t trust any political parties, we rely on the Supreme Court,” asserted Ajmal.
“We have been appealing that the people should not get excited and wait for the second draft to be published,” Ajmal who was surrounded by TV channels seeking his reaction, said in front of the Parliament House.