Assam: Congress MP calls new NRC coordinator 'biased'

By: Syeda Ambia Zahan

GUWAHATI: Congress MP from Barpeta Abdul Khaleque on Wednesday shot off a letter to Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal , opposing the appointment of Hitesh Dev Sharma as the new state coordinator of National Register of Citizens. (NRC).


Sharma, an Assam Civil Service Officer, took charge as NRC coordinator on Saturday.

Describing Sharma as "biased" and "not trustworthy" for the exercise, Khaleque, in his letter, said, "After Hajela was transferred as per the direction of the Supreme Court, we were expecting the Assam government to appoint an unbiased and trustworthy officer for the exercise. But Hitesh Dev Sharma, the new coordinator, is in no way impartial for the job."

He further added, "The external affairs ministry has termed the NRC as 'a historic, constitutional and legal document'. The final list dropped 19 lakh people from the citizenship register. We have faith that all genuine Indians will be enlisted. But the appointment of this particular officer as Hajela's successor shows that the Assam government does not want an error-free NRC."

Citing that Sharma has made many controversial comments on the social media, Khaleque said a government officer should refrain from making such comments.

The screenshots of Sharma's posts shared by Khaleque show the officer making sarcastic comments against people of a particular community.

"I have sent the letter and the screenshots of all these comments along with the url number of his Facebook profile to the CM's office," he added.

If the government wants an error-free and credible NRC, then Sharma should be immediately released from the post of NRC coordinator, said the MP.