The NRC office has launched a social media campaign to counter an online petition against the updating of the National Register of Citizens of 1951 in Assam, an official said today.
The social media team of the NRC office here on Monday noticed the petition titled "India: Stop Deleting Muslims" on a web campaigning community portal, 'Avaaz', NRC state co-ordinator Prateek Hajela said.
The portal termed the ongoing process of updating the National Register of Citizens (NRC) "a ploy" to delete Muslim applicants' names, he said.
Over 2.5 lakh applicants from across the world have already signed the petition with the number increasing rapidly, Hajela said, adding that it has gone viral on social media.
To counter the Avaaz petition, the NRC office has launched an online petition and its social media team is replying to posts, clarifying that the NRC was not targeted against any religion or community, but was being updated to detect foreigners staying illegally in the state, he said.
The Awaaz petition alleged that publication of the NRC "will lead to mass violence, ethnic cleansing and the transfer of minority Muslims to prison camps for life".
The counter petition of the NRC office said, "The NRC update is being carried out in Assam under the provisions of Indian laws and that too under close supervision of the highest court of the land, the Supreme Court."
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