Nobody will be allowed to take law into own hands: Assam CM before release of final NRC draft

The Assam government will not allow anyone to take the law into their own hands and ensure the peace in the state is not disturbed, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Sunday said, ahead of the publication of the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

After a meeting with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, the chief minister said the final draft of the NRC, a list of Assam’s citizens, consisting of names of all eligible applicants will be published on July 30.

“Applicants who do not find their names in the complete NRC need not be apprehensive as they will be given adequate opportunity to prove their eligibility for inclusion in the final NRC,” he told reporters here.

Sonowal said the state government will ensure that law and order is maintained and no one will be allowed to take law into own hands. “All possible arrangements are being made to ensure safety and security for all.”

The chief minister said there should not be any apprehension or misgivings among the genuine Indian citizens after the publication of the final draft of the NRC as all the applicants whose names have not been figured in it will get chance to submit their claim in prescribed form.

Sonowal also asked people to desist from passing any comment likely to vitiate the communal fabric of the state.

He said after the publication of the first draft NRC on December 31, 2017, people in the state had showed adequate maturity and therefore, peace was not disturbed.

The chief minister asked people of the state to showcase the same maturity and restraint this time around also and maintain peace and order in the state.