ERO can not ignore NRC, say Home Ministry officials

New Delhi: The Home Ministry officials have come out opposing Election Commission's statement in which it maintained that any Assam resident excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) can still be eligible to vote if he/she produces any other proof of citizenship before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).

The home ministry officials have stated that ERO cannot disregard an official document like NRC while applying his judgement.

December 15 deadline for submission of claims and objections to the draft NRC approaches and only about 10 lakh of the total 40 lakh residents left out of the draft NRC have filed claims so far. Less than 200 objections have been received.

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- Disenfranchisement may be the next logical step for residents of Assam who were excluded from draft NRC but have chosen not to file claims for inclusion in the final NRC.

- As for those who have filed claims, NRC authorities will scrutinise their claims and decide on inclusion in the final NRC.

- Those rejected can challenge it in tribunals and courts.

The officer said, "The limited claims and very few objections filed against the draft NRC show that people who were left out were rightfully left out and that the process was robust. That so many people have not filed claims shows they have no proof of citizenship."

Former CEC OP Rawat said, “A voter, despite his/her absence from final NRC, will continue to remain on the rolls if he/she can prove to ERO that he/she has documents to prove he/she is a citizen of India, is at least 18 years old and is ordinarily resident in the assembly constituency.”

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Rawat added, "With the rolls revision exercise for 2019 going on in Assam, the EC was faced with three scenarios. First, registered voters who are in the final NRC will remain unaffected. Second, voters who are absent from final NRC but have managed to get a stay from a tribunal or court will continue to be on the electoral rolls. Third, for those who are neither in the final NRC nor have challenged their exclusion in court, the ERO will decide their fate based on criteria laid down in the RP Act. "