Agartala/New Delhi: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on October 5 said that no decision had been taken on the issue of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) revision in Tripura. This statement comes just a few days after the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) leaders said that Rajnath Singh had assured them of a government such a revision in the state.

In a press statement, the MHA said that Singh met with a delegation of the INPT led by its president Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl on October 4, but there was no promise about the possible NRC revision.

“However, no assurance of any kind was given by the Union home minister regarding the implementation of NRC in the state of Tripura. It is categorically asserted that no decision has been taken on the issue of NRC in Tripura,” said the MHA.

Aiming to flush out illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, several states like Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Nagaland and Tripura, are considering an Assam-like register of citizens with the help of the Centre.
 
The NRC contains names of Indian citizens of Assam and the list was prepared in 1951. The state restarted the exercise after the BJP government came to power in the state led by chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal who was formerly associated with the All Assam Students Union that had been leading a movement for decades to ensure that bona fide Assamese alone live in the state.
 
In Tripura, INPT general secretary Jagadish Debbarma said that the home minister told them that the NRC list was being revised in Assam and the same initiative would be taken in Tripura too — once the process is completed in Assam — as reported by The Indian Express.
 
Two months ago, INPT leaders had submitted a memorandum to the registrar general of NRC to revise the register in Tripura by INPT leaders. They also discussed with former Assam chief minister, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) founder Prafulla Mahanta and KHADC executives in Meghalaya a pan-Northeast axis for NRC revision. They also raised their voice against the proposed Citizenship Amendment Bill, 2016.