Assam NRC row: TMC, Congress give adjournment notices

The All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Congress on Tuesday gave adjournment motion notices in the Lok Sabha over Assam's controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue.

The draft list, released on Monday, has incorporated 2.89 crore people out of 3.29 crore applicants, leaving out nearly 40 lakh people in the state. The list was released in line with the directions of the Supreme Court to identify permanent residents and illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

TMC MP Saugata Roy and Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury gave the adjournment motion notices in the lower house.

Earlier in the day, MPs of the TMC, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) staged a protest in front of Gandhi statue in Parliament over the same issue. The TMC has also decided to send a delegation to visit the state in the first week of August.

The Rajya Sabha was adjourned thrice over the issue.

According to local reports, the All Assam Students' Union (AASU) was the first to celebrate the draft publication by distributing sweets. It was AASU which had been on the forefront over the issue and had moved the Supreme Court also.

A prohibitory order was reportedly imposed on Monday under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in 14 districts including Sonitpur, Karimganj, Golaghat, Barpeta, Dhubri, Dima Hasao, and Darrang. Security was also beefed up across the state to maintain law and order following the publication of the draft.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured that no coercive action would be taken against those whose names were excluded from the final draft list. Clarifying that this was the draft list and not the final one, Singh asserted that "no misinformation should be spread in this regard".

The NRC draft features the names, addresses, and photographs of all Indian citizens, who have been residing in the northeastern state before March 25, 1971.