GUWAHATI, Aug 1 � Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today constituted a ten-member Cabinet committee to examine the difficulties being faced during the process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) of 1951 and to make recommendations to make the process simple and convenient.
Official sources said that Revenue Minister Dr Bhumidhar Barman will head the Cabinet committee. The other members of the committee are Parliamentary Affairs Minister Bharat Chandra Narah, Flood Conrol Minister Prithibi Majhi, Excise Minister Gautam Roy, Urban Development Minister DP Goala, Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Handloom and Textiles Minister Pranab Gogoi, Minority Affairs Minister Nazrul Islam and Transport Minister Chandan Brahma.
Sources said that the Chief Minister, who is undergoing treatment in Asian Heart Institute in Mumbai, sent the formal communication in this regard to the State Chief Secretary this evening.
Meanwhile, the All Assam Students� Union (AASU) today said that formation of a Cabinet Committee on the issue of NRC would delay the whole process of updating the NRC. AASU adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya pointed out that a group of Ministers formed more than four years back is yet to submit its report on implementation of clause 6 of the Assam Accord and formation of a Cabinet committee would cause abnormal delay in updating the NRC.
AASU president Sankar Prasad Roy pointed out that the decision to update the NRC was taken in a tripartite meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on May 5, 2005 and as the State Government was a party to the decision, it should play its part to ensure timely completion of the project. He said that though the process of updating the NRC was to be completed by 2007, the whole process was delayed because of the failure of the State Government to play its part and only due to sustained pressure from the AASU, the decision to launch pilot projects in two revenue circles was taken on April 22.
AASU general secretary Tapan Kumar Gogoi said that the modalities were finalized by the Central and State Governments and the students� body extended its support to the same. But because of a violent protest by one organization, the State Government suspended the project, which is not acceptable. He asserted that the AASU would oppose any conspiracy to include names of any foreign national in the NRC.
