The Assam government will not hold a hearing on the National Register of Citizen (NRC) issue on Wednesday due to the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, officials said here on Tuesday.
The move comes after civil society organisations and individuals demanded the Assam government to keep the hearing for claims and objections regarding the NRC on hold from Tuesday to Thursday due to the festival.
On Monday night, NRC coordinator Pratik Hajela confirmed that no hearing will take place on Wednesday, but did not mention about Tuesday or Thursday.
Social activist Ashraful Hussain of Barpeta told IANS on Tuesday: "Hundreds of people in different districts of Assam are summoned by the NRC officials every day. Most of these people are Muslims and they are having tough time since the last one month to appear in these hearings."
Hussain said that most of these people are genuine Indian citizens whose names have already appeared in the draft NRC which was published last year.
"While the process is on, we urge the government of Assam to keep the hearings on hold for three days as there will be less movement of vehicles due to Eid.
"The people are mostly from weaker financial backgrounds. They have been spending a lot of money to come for the hearings," he added.
--IANS
ah/ksk
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