Unconditional Citizenship Demand Forum on Saturday termed the Assam government’s decision to stop issuing ‘D’ voter notice during the NRC process a ‘farce and nothing new’ in this state.
While talking to Northeast Now, Kamal Chakraborty the Chief Convener of UCDF, said, “We have been vehemently advocating for granting citizenship to displaced Hindu minorities who have come from neighbouring countries facing oppression in that land. The ‘D’ voter notice is not being served for a long time. How can it be served, for the state or the district machinery, does not have the required resources to do as such. All cases that are coming up now are of the period between year 2014 and 2015 or before that. Even during that period, notices were not served in right earnest and authentic verifications.”
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He went on informing that once the notices are issued, he or she comes to know at a very late stage and has to face the brunt of all legal hassles. Most of the time, the person against whom notice has been served has to find out the validity of the order from the respective agencies.
“There are many others who have been issued ‘Declared Foreigner’ but have not been put in detention camps. Why is the state government not sending them to detention camps? The reason being, there are not enough spaces to accommodate for the same,” Kamal Chakraborty added.
Talking to this correspondent, he said, “Not just this ‘D’ voter issue, even the central government’s decision or for that matter the ministry of Home Affairs, to allow the process of granting of citizenship in 7 states of the country is also not new, as it is just an extension of a previous order,” he said.
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“The earlier order was due to expire this year by December 24, for which, Home ministry has re-issued such a directive. Having said that, we have written many times to various agencies and departments, both at the state level as well as the centre to implement it in Assam,” Chakraborty said.
Speaking more on the sidelines of the contentious issue of Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, Kamal Chakraborty said, “Our organization stands for ‘Unconditional Citizenships Demand Forum’ for which we won’t budge from that. Our stand is very clear; a ‘house’ has been divided twice, once during independence in 1947 and made into East Pakistan, and later in 1971, made into Bangladesh. If these people have been made the sacrificial lamb for no fault of them and have come fleeing from that part, they should get the desired freedom to live with honour and dignity in India. We want citizenship to be granted to these six communities coming from Pakistan or Afghanistan and especially Bangladesh, but, without any pre-condition or any condition at all.”