NEW DELHI, Sept 17 - The Assam Public Works (APW) on Tuesday declared that it is filing two separate petitions in the Supreme Court seeking reverification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) data and an inquiry into the software used by the NRC authority during the exercise.
Addressing a press conference at the Press Club of India here this afternoon, APW president Abhijeet Sharma, whose organisation was the main petitioner in the case, said he is filing the first affidavit tomorrow seeking 100 per cent reverification of the final NRC list by a judicial commission. Sharma had earlier filed a similar plea before the Supreme Court, but it was not accepted. �This time my petition will be on the basis of a list of 30 to 35 names who are doubtful voters, yet their names have appeared in the NRC final list,� he said adding he has compiled names of around 80,000 such doubtful people whose names are now part of the NRC. There is also enough evidence of legacy trading, he alleged.
�We are not happy with the NRC process and 100 per cent verification of the sample is required,� he said.
He argued that the Supreme Court is monitoring the exercise from Delhi but nobody is scrutinising what the NRC authority is doing in Assam. �We had suggested a panel of names to the apex court, but it was rejected,� he said.
Sharma said they had suggested that indigenous communities like Koch, Rabha, Rajbongshi, Bodo, Tiwa, Mising, Karbi, Deuri and others are the sons of the soil and their names should have been automatically included in the NRC.
�But, they too had to stand alongside the illegal intruders coming from Bangladesh. The citizens of this country, whose ownership of the land is their birthright, had to submit papers to prove their citizenship, too,� he added.
�Has it been calculated, and examined properly, how much money has been spent in the entire process of NRC? Were the timely audits of the funds allocated by the State and the Central government performed properly? If yes, then whatever information the Central government has regarding this should be made public. If the audits were not done properly, it should be investigated by the Enforcement Directorate.
�We have heard that over Rs 1,600 crore had been spent till the completion of the NRC process,� Sharma claimed.
�As the names of illegal Bangladeshi foreigners were included in the process and these are the groups of people who spread religious fundamentalism in society, along with their involvement in terrorist activities, we demand that the Central government engage the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe such elements. The APW also demands a CBI probe into the recruitment process of the officers involved in the NRC exercise, the outsourcing of various activities and utilisation of the funds,� he said.
Sharma disclosed that his second affidavit will be on the reliability of the software used in the NRC exercise. He alleged that four software companies were engaged in the process but their performance was doubtful. Sharma said he will demand an IT audit of the software used by an internationally acclaimed organisation.
Meanwhile, an NGO, United Against Hate, released a report titled �Democracy Under Detention Horrors of NRC from Assam� at the Press Club of India.
The NGO, which has members across the State, said in its report that there is widespread fear among the people in Assam about their future and status of citizenship.
