Names of 1.5 L people not to be included in final NRC draft: Hajela

The names of around 1.5 lakh people featuring in the first draft of the National Register of Citizens would not be included in the final draft to be published on July 30 as discrepancies were found during the verification process, NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela said today.

These names would be withdrawn as per the July 2 order of the Supreme Court that is monitoring the updation process of the NRC to identify illegal migrants in Assam, he said.

"Around 1.5 lakh people, whose names were there in the first draft of the NRC, would not be included," Hajela told PTI.

After the publication of its first draft on December 31 last year, the names of 65,694 persons featuring in it were found to be inadmissible during the family tree verification process, he said.

It was also found that the names of another 19,783 persons were included by mistake, the NRC state coordinator said, adding that more such cases might come up during the final quality control checks.

The names of 48,456 married women, who had provided certificates from Gaon Panchayat to prove their citizenship, were also found to be inadmissible.

Every effort is being made to make the NRC error-free and if the name of any Indian is left out, they would get opportunities to file claims and objections, he said.

The names of doubtful (D) voters and those whose cases are going on in the Foreigners Tribunals will not be included in the final draft, Hajela said.

On the 'D' voters, the NRC state coordinator said, "We have not deleted their names but only kept them on hold. If they win the cases in the Foreigners' Tribunals, their names will be included in the NRC later."