AIUDF President and Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri Badruddin Ajmal on Tuesday said he will request the Supreme Court to direct the authorities to expedite the process for issuing the second list of Assam citizens, after he found his and his kin's names missing from the first list issued on Sunday.
He said his party, the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), wants all the Bangladeshis, who came into India illegally after 1971, to be deported.
The Registrar General of India on Sunday night issued the first Draft List of Assam Citizen Register containing 1.9 crore names in accordance with the Supreme Court directions to publish the first draft on or before December 31, 2017.
However, the names of Ajmal, his two sons Abdur Rahman and Abdur Rahim, and his brother Sirajuddin Ajmal are missing from the list.
While Sirajuddin is a Lok Sabha Member from Barpeta, Abdur Rahim is an MLA from Jamunamukh and Abur Rahman is a former MLA.
Besides, names of another 24 prominent persons, including several sitting MLAs and former MLAs of various political parties, are also missing.
These include Karimgnaj MP Radhe Shyam Biswas (also his wife and elder son), Gauripur MLA Nijanur Rahman, Dhubri MLA Nazrul Haque, Bhavanipur MLA Abul Kalam Azam, Bilashipara MLA Bashir Ahmad, Algapur MLA Nizamuddin Chaudhary, Abayapuri MLA Ananta Mallo, Dhing MLA Aminul Islam and former MLA Aditya Lantasa (all from AIUDF).
Also, the names of Baghabar MLA Sharman Ali, Rupohi MLA Nurul Hoda, former Minister Ardunda Dey, former MLAs Romi Nath, Abu Tahir Bepari, Mandira Roy and Habul Chakravarty, and MLAs Shukr Ali, and Kamolakha Dey Purkayastha (all from Congress party) are also missing.
Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs Ashwin Roy Sarkar and Angurlata Deka, apart from former Vice Chancellor of Assam University Tapadhir Bhattacharjee, also did not find their names in the first list.
The citizen register is being prepared as per the 1985 Assam Peace Accord signed by the Rajiv Gandhi government with the All Assam Students Union (AASU) and the Assam Gana Sangram Parishad.
As per the Accord, the government needed to identify and deport illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and provide constitutional safeguards to indigenous communities of the state.
"We will request all the people to maintain peace as we are sure that the genuine citizens would definitely find their names in the second list. Even if they do not find their names in the second list too, there are other legal recourses available. So, don't panic," Ajmal said.
"The entire process is being monitored by the Supreme Court and we think it is being done impartially. However, if the local officials get biased, it is a different thing. So, we request the apex court to direct the officials concerned to expedite the process for the second list," Ajmal said.
A Muslim man from Kashipur in Assam reportedly hanged himself from a tree on Monday after not finding his name in the first list. Local media reports identified the man as Hanif Khan, aged about 45 years.
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