Assam government today asked the Supreme Court to relax norms by allowing to include names of "genuine Indian citizens" coming to the state after 1971 in the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"Any genuine Indian citizen who came to Assam after 1971 must be included in the NRC," the state government said in an additional affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court requesting to bring in changes in the modalities of the NRC exercise.
Currently, the NRC is being updated by including the names of all those Indians who came to Assam on or before March 25, 1971.
According to an official release, the government also advocated for unconditional inclusion of all the Scheduled Tribes (STs), both hills and plains and other six ethnic communities namely Morans, Motoks, Chutias, Tai-Ahoms, Koch-Rajbonghis and tea tribes in the NRC.
"Moreover, based on the caste certificates issued by the competent authority, the SCs, OBCs, MOBCs, the persons and their ancestors residing in Assam for more than 100 years should automatically find their names in the ongoing updation of the NRC," it added.
The Assam government has advocated for inclusion of the "original inhabitants" based on the Citizenship Act 1955, Rule 2003 in the NRC.
Further, the state government has recommended for extending the time-frame for submission of NRC application, supply of additional computers along with operators, simplification of the entire procedure and house to house visit by the officials for completion of the entire exercise.
