GUWAHATI, Oct 22 - Voluntary organisation Assam Public Works (APW) has demanded seizure of the passport of National Register of Citizens (NRC) Coordinator Prateek Hajela so as to prevent him from fleeing the country. It has also urged the government to institute an investigation into the entire process of updating the NRC by CBI, ED, NIA, etc.
It needs mention here that APW president Abhijeet Sarma had moved the Supreme Court of India on the issue of updating the NRC and brought an end to the decades-old stalemate over the issue of updating this vital document.
APW said in a statement here today that it will be explaining the reasons behind its above-mentioned demands in detail in the fresh petition it is going to file before the Supreme Court on November 17. It has alleged that the NRC Coordinator performed in a mischievous manner and was involved in misappropriation of a huge amount of money released by the government for updating the NRC.
Giving a hint of the issues it is going to raise before the apex court, the voluntary organisation said that the name of a Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member could feature in the updated NRC. Moreover, there is a strong need to audit the information technology (IT) software used in the process of updating the NRC and an internationally reputed organisation should be engaged in this task.
Though a huge amount of money was released by the authorities concerned to various organisations for IT assistance required in the process of updating the NRC, not a single audit coordinated in this respect. Once the audit is completed, the facts as to how and how many times the court orders were violated and manipulated by the NRC Coordinator, keeping the court in the dark, will come to light.
The voluntary organisation has urged the State government also to appoint an honest and efficient officer as NRC coordinator after the exit of Hajela. The new coordinator should also be asked to do away with the defects of the NRC updating process for the benefit of the indigenous peoples of the State. Moreover, the officials who are copycats of Hajela, should be withdrawn from the NRC updating process, said the voluntary organisation.
