NRC is hanging like a sword of Damocles on the heads of voters in Assam. As soon as the polls got over, the BJP government is in the process of issuing D-notices to the voters, some of whom may have even voted for BJP itself.

There are some cases that need to be considered in the context of the story of NRC in Assam.

Case No. FT 4 TH / 92/2020 Plaintiff: State of Assam. Defendant: Vijay Das. Father: Ishwar Jaldhar Das. Village: Kalain Tarapur. Thana: Katigarh. District: Cachar.

Case No. 8 FT 10 / AGM / 702/2017 Plaintiff — State of Assam. Defendant: Shanti Banshphor. Husband: Badanlal Banshphor. Village: Ramraikuthi. Thana: Agonani.

District: Dhubri.

Case No. FT 4 TH / 91/2020 Plaintiff: State of Assam. Defendant – Naru Das. Father: Ishwar Gopendrachandra Das. Village: Kalain Tarapur. Thana: Katigarh. District: Cachar.

All three of Vijay Das, Shanti Banshphor, and Naru Das are Hindu Bengalis, who have voted. The BJP candidates also went to the houses of the voters like Vijay & Shanti and prayed, pleaded & begged for their votes. The candidates hung the traditional towel of Assam,Gamosa, around his neck and assured, “You are refugee Hindu Bengalis. Your citizenship will be guaranteed through CAA. Do not be afraid. Trust the BJP.”

Not only for Naru, Vijay, or Shanti, but also for every other refugee in the Bengali community of Assam, the saffron camp flooded the book of poll-promises in this way. All-India leaders of the party were also presenting carrots at the public meeting to grant citizenship. People like Vijay relied on their words. Now they think that it has been a big mistake. Because, it is a far cry to give citizenship. In fact, the BJP government of Assam is working on their ‘de-voter’ list after obtaining votes in Assam election. The Assam government led by BJP is going to hand over notice to the D-list people, which is a nightmare for people like Vijay & Shanti.

This means that the first step is to expel the Bengali refugees from Assam or send them to detention camps. Such behaviour by Modi-Shah’s party has been termed as a ‘cruel farce’ by human rights organizations, like Assam Civil Rights Protection Committee (ACRPC). At the same time, the leaders of BJP & the works of organizations like ACRPC, reminded the Bengalis of West Bengal of the horrible form of NRC, once again.

Also Read: Assam election: Will ask for your vote, then you need to prove your citizenship

The third round of voting in Assam ended on April 06. Since then, the administration of Sarbananda Sonowal has been trying to label the Bengali refugees as ‘suspicious citizens’. Notices are being issued in houses in several districts including Kachar, Dhubri, and Bongaigaon. Notices have also been received from lower Assam. More importantly, Hindu-Bengali refugees are more on the list of de-notices.

Apart from people like Vijay & Naru, notices have been issued to Pratibha Dey, Pradeep Das, and Lilabati Das, residents of Bangaigaon district. Pratibhadevi will have to take all the evidence of Indian citizenship to Tribunal No. 1 of District Foreign Tribunal on April 21. Pradeep’s appearance date is April 19 at 10 am. Lilabati was summoned to the Batipura tribunal on April 17.

It is virtually impossible for Pratibha or a Pradeep to gather what has been asked to be submitted as evidence. As a result, the ‘refugees’ are now afraid of losing their citizenship. They are not getting cool thinking about a question; how to become a ‘suspicious voter’ even after voting?

Sadhan Purkayastha, one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Protection Committee was able to guess the politics of the BJP’s change of heart on the issue of granting citizenship. He disclosed to a Bengali daily, “Our fears came true. Notices are being issued to the D-voters as soon as the votes are cast. There is no end to the tricks of the BJP government. The Bengalis of West Bengal are in danger if they do not understand. If they (BJP) form a government in Bengal, they will run the steamroller.”

Kamal Chakraborty, an anti-NRC activist, said, “D-voter notices are being sent to Hindu-Bengali refugees across Assam.” He also added, “As soon as the vote was over, the BJP people took off their masks and made their faces clear. We strongly protest against the notice. Let the people of West Bengal be aware of this.”