Guwahati: The ministry of home affairs has started working out a strategy to propagate the idea of issuing “biometric work permit” to all those who, out of 40 lakh, will be declared “illegal foreigners” in the ongoing process of updating the National Register of Citizens in Assam. Disclosing that the home ministry may also propose Assam like NRC in all the states of the country, security sources told this newspaper that successful publication of NRC in Assam has strengthened the confidence of the government, in spite of the security challenges involved.
Informing that the political leadership has to take a call on implementing the NRC in all the states, sources in the ministry of home affairs said that their immediate challenge is to take a decision on fate of those tagged as “illegal foreigners” in Assam. Admitting that it was not possible to deport lakhs of people likely to be tagged as “illegal foreigners”, security sources said that home ministry was of view that it would also not be a practical solution to confine such huge number of people into the detention camps.
Asserting that “biometric work permit” may help in keeping track of such illegal foreigners, security sources said that home ministry is looking into all these aspects as Supreme Court may ask the government about their action plan to tackle the people declared as “illegal foreigners”. Apart from disenfranchising them, security sources said that home ministry would also push for depriving them of right to buy immovable property in the state.
Informing that home ministry was keeping a close watch on the situation in Assam, security sources said that there have been attempts to create law and order problem in the state after the publication of the final draft of the NRC. Sources said Union home minister Rajnath Singh has taken up the issue of influx from Bangladesh with Dhaka, but it was told that it is not possible for a sovereign country to take back lakhs of immigrants.
