NRC 'Insults' Assam Agitation Martyr's Family, Names Excluded from List

Tezpur, July 1, 2019:

Assam's Gorkha organizations have caused a hue-and-cry after the family members of the Assam Agitation's first martyr, Baijyanti Devi, have been excluded from the complete draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The organizations have also decried the exclusion the Sahitya Akademi awardee and President of Assam Nepali Sahitya Sabha Durga Khatiwada from the NRC draft. Moreover, the great-granddaughter of freedom fighter Chabilal Upadhyay, was also excluded from the NRC draft and designated a 'D' voter.

Gorkha organizations have expressed their frustration over this "injustice" and the influential Gorkha group Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangha (BhaGoPa) has also condemned this unexpected turn of events, amid many complaints of alleged discrepancies in the NRC process in the State.

Meanwhile, National Secretary Nanda Kirati Dewan said that the NRC process has disrespected the Gorkha community and added that the matter will be taken to court if the issue is not resolved.

Speaking to Inside Northeast, he said that the Assam Government must come forward and resolve this situation and  disrespect to the Gorkhas. "It seems like the sacrifice of Gorkhas has been completely overlooked", he said.

The National Secretary also lamented the 'system' that leads to incidents like these. "The system is organization put in place by the Election Commission, and it needs to be set right once and for all. The border police have also been found guilty of targeting particular communities based on some baseless rumors", he added.

The Gokha leader has also alleged that minorities have been targeted by some groups due to 'extreme regionalism', and added that Hindus Bangladeshis are being targeted. "Somewhere down the line, I feel that Gorkhas are also being targeted by these groups", he said.

It has also been claimed that this is a 'sinister design' by a section of the people who don't accept that Assam is a 'multi-lingual' and 'multi-cultural society'.

He stated: "Some members of the administration are also hand-in-glove and being used, and these are happening due to extreme regionalism. Assam border police have also been caught napping, some of the departments are not even interested, and that is how this has all happened. This has resulted in chaos, D-voters number 2-2.5 lakh, but most have not been expelled. This does not give a good message to the society."

"The people who have 'disrespected' should be immediately included in the NRC. In order to close the D-voter cases, these cases should be disposed. People who are complaining against genuine citizens, should be heavily condemned. We believe in dialogue and we believe in telling the truth", he added.

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