Prateek Hajela is a 'One-Man-Show' Manipulating the NRC: Shiladitya Dev

Guwahati, August 1, 2019:

The controversy over the publication of the final draft National Register of Citizens (NRC), which has now been pushed back to August 31, refuses to die down, with the BJP leaders renewing their attack on the NRC Co-ordinator 'one-man-show' Prateek Hajela.

The controversy, which has been raging ever since the NRC was first announced, has now entered the Assam Assembly with the Hojai MLA Shiladitya Dev now casting his doubts over the fairness and accuracy of the register.

He has alleged that if an inaccurate NRC is published, it will threaten the very existence of the Assamese people.

Giving names, Dev said one Abdul Hannan and his brother, Mohammed Saiful, were declared foreigner by a Foreigners’ Tribunal in Nagaon in 2017, but their names were later added to the NRC. "This shows that the one-man show is manipulating any computer", he said.

Moreover, Deb has alleged that there are many such examples from different parts of the state where names of people, who were declared foreigners by the Tribunals, appeared in the draft NRC.

Addressing the Speaker, he said that under co-ordinator Prateek Hajela, the NRC has become a one-man show, which is not good and threatens to compromise the sanctity of the register.

Meanwhile, another BJP legislator Debananda Hazarika, has expressed a similar sentiment regarding the NRC.

It is to be mentioned that the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the state and Central governments for carrying out a sample re-verification of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam. Subsequently, many BJP leaders have turned against the co-ordinator and accused him of biasness.

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