Assam MP Appeals to Governor to “Reconsider” Appointment of New NRC Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma

Guwahati, December 26, 2019:

Assam Congress leader and MP Abdul Khaleque has written to the state’s Governor Jagdish Mukhi to reconsider the appointment of Hitesh Dev Sarma as the coordinator of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) citing the latter’s controversial posts on social media.

Khaleque, in his letter to the Governor, stated, “That in pursuant to the various controversial posts as shared by Mr Dev Sarma in social media against a particular community, it is not desirable to appoint such a biased person to handle a highly sensitive position i.e. State coordinator of the National Register of Citizens.”

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It may be mentioned here that Hitesh Dev Sarma was recently appointed as the NRC coordinator after Prateek Hajela, who had landed in the soup for refraining from providing clarity on the process of the Assam NRC.

The Assam MP from Barpeta constituency cited the new NRC Coordinator’s ‘biased’ nature as the main reason behind his reconsideration appeal. “From the various posts the biasness of Mr. Dev Sarma is quite apparent and palpable. His conducts and views regarding this matter prima facie shows a high degree of biasness…I am concerned with his biasness against a particular community. Therefore, Mr Dev Sarma is not a fit person to handle such a sensitive post,” said Khaleque.

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The Congress leader had also written to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal to reconsider Sarma’s appointment. However, according to Khaleque, “As many people questioned his biasness, Mr Dev Sarma was forced to take a long leave…”

Abdul Khaleque has urged the Assam Governor to cancel the appointment of the new NRC coordinator stating that if Hitesh Dev Sarma remained in the helm of the NRC affair, it is likely that the reverification process would be done in a biased manner.

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