GUWAHATI, July 25 - Campaigns and misinformation propaganda by the forces opposing the National Register of Citizens (NRC), both in the cyberspace and real world, started gathering momentum after the officials concerned started detecting bogus and fraudulent documents during the verification of family trees of the applicants and certificates issued by the secretaries of the gaon panchayats, which prompted Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to come out with a statement asserting that the NRC is being updated in an impartial, transparent and meticulous manner.
Highly placed official sources told The Assam Tribune that though the process of updating the NRC with the midnight of March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date started three years back, the campaigns against it started only after the officials started detecting a large number of bogus or fraudulent documents during the verification process, more particularly while verifying the family trees of the applicants.
Sources pointed out that certain sections are trying to create confusion in the minds of people as the day for publication of the complete draft of the NRC is drawing closer and asserted that those whose names do not appear in the citizenship document would get adequate chance to file claims and objections. Even if the name of any genuine Indian citizen does not appear in the NRC, he or she will not be branded as a foreigner and sent to detention centres. Such persons will have the opportunity to appeal before the Foreigners Tribunals, sources added.
The sources pointed out that though the officers engaged in the verification process were asked not to declare the results of the verification process, the people who submitted bogus documents were aware of the fact that their mischief was detected and that is why those opposing the NRC launched a campaign to create confusion in the minds of people.
The sources further said that during the family tree verification, a substantial number of mismatches were detected and it is evident that over the years, the authorities responsible for issuing various certificates did not take adequate care while issuing these documents and it has raised a question mark over their authenticity. There have been instances where people managed to get voters� identity cards using different names, while bogus ration cards, birth certificates, PAN cards, etc., were also detected. As the legacy data of the 1951 NRC and the voters� lists up to 1971 were made available, a large number of people used the same claiming themselves to be sons or daughters of persons whose names appeared in the electoral rolls. A large number of such false affidavits were also detected during the verification process.
Another major flaw detected was presentation of private school certificates and it was found that a good number of such certificates were issued by non-existent schools and there were also cases of boys� schools issuing certificates to girls and vice versa.
Around 29 lakh married women submitted certificates issued by gaon panchayat secretaries and when both the persons concerned were called for on the spot verification, it was found that in majority of the cases, the secretaries did not know the persons to whom they had issued the certificates. Similarly, the certificates issued by the gaonburhas are not admissible under the laws.
