Assam Urges EC To Delay Voter Roll Revision Until NRC Release, Citing Citizenship Concerns

Assam has asked the Election Commission (EC) to wait for its NRC before starting the state’s intensive revision of electoral rolls, after the EC announced a nationwide drive beginning with Bihar, as per a The Indian Express report.

Officials told the EC that Assam is the only state to have conducted an NRC and that it should be considered when deciding timelines and eligibility documents for the state’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Sources in the Assam government argued the NRC, once published, could be used as proof of citizenship in the revision.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties have alleged that Bihar’s SIR has become a de facto citizenship-verifying exercise – “NRC through the backdoor" and that’s not within the purview of the poll panel.

Assam’s request could delay its SIR since the NRC remains in limbo. The 2019 draft NRC excluded 19.6 lakh of 3.3 crore applicants, but the Registrar General of India has not notified it.

BJP-led governments have criticised it as flawed, claiming it wrongly excludes indigenous people while including many “foreigners.”

The Supreme Court had previously denied requests for full reverification, noting that 27 per cent reverification had already been done.

But last month, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma told the Assembly the government still seeks 20 per cent reverification of the list in districts bordering Bangladesh and 10 per cent in the rest of the districts.

“The NRC is about to be released. It will be out in a month or two, most likely by October,” a source was quoted as saying, adding it would be “a perfect document for proving citizenship.”

The EC’s Bihar exercise has faced court challenges over its demand for documents proving age and citizenship for those registered after 2003. The Supreme Court allowed the revision to proceed but urged the EC to also accept Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards.

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