Kargil war veteran declared foreigner: Cong slams BJP govt, says insult to sacrifice of forces

The Congress on Thursday hit out at the BJP government over a tribunal in Assam declaring a Kargil war veteran a foreigner, saying it shows the "high- handedness and flawed manner" in which the NRC exercise is being implemented in the northeastern state.

Mohammad Sanaullah, a resident of Kolohikash village in Kamrup district, was declared a foreigner by the Foreigners Tribunal, Kamrup.

"Shocking!! BJP Govt has labelled the 'Foreigner' tag to a Kargil War Hero! It is an insult to the sacrifice of our brave Armed Forces. This speaks volumes about the high handedness and flawed manner in which the NRC exercise is being implemented in Assam," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.

The draft Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) was published on July 30, 2018 in which the names of 2.89 crore of the 3.29 crore people were included. The names of 40,70,707 people did not figure in the list. Of these, 37,59,630 names have been rejected and the remaining 2,48,077 are on hold.

A case was registered in 2008 after Sanaullah's name was listed as a 'D' (doubtful) voter in the voters list, according to Additional Superintendent of Police (Kamrup) Sanjib Saikia.

Sanaullah's family said it would appeal to the Gauhati High Court against the tribunal's verdict.