Amid NRC furore, Union Home Minister Amit Shah to visit Assam

Amid activists and opposition crying foul over Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) that excluded over 19 lakh people, Union Home Minister Amit Shah will visit Assam on September 8 to hold a meeting with the governor and chief minister and discuss the issue in detail.

He will also hold meetings with chief ministers seven other Northeast states to discuss security and developmental issues. He is also scheduled to attend the North Eastern Council on September 8 and 9. This will be Shah's first visit to Assam since becoming the home minister three months ago.

His earlier plan to attend the North Eastern Council meeting on August 3-4 was postponed, apparently due to his engagements ahead of abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories, which was announced on August 5.

During his meeting with the chief ministers and governors at the North Eastern Council plenary, Shah will review and discuss with them the security situation and development issues. He will also review the progress of various development issues at the meeting.

The North Eastern Council is the apex advisory body for securing balanced and coordinated development, and for facilitating effective coordination among the member states. The body was restructured in July 2018 with the nomination of the Home Minister as the North Eastern Council chairman and the minister for development of northeastern region (DoNER) as the vice-chairman.

He will also hold separate meetings with Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and top functionaries of the Assam government and the state BJP leadership. The final NRC was published on Saturday, after which there has been much hue and cry across the state. According to the NRC, out of the total 3.3 crore applicants, 3.11 crore figured in the list and names of about 19 lakh people were excluded.

After the list was published, Assam Finance Minister Himant Biswa Sarma and state BJP chief Ranjit Kumar Dass said they were unhappy with the NRC as names of many genuine Indian citizens were not included. Both Sarma and Dass said there is a possibility of government taking some legislative options to protect the rights of genuine Indians.

Under these circumstances, the Home Minister's visit will bear significance.