The Assam government has claimed that the percentage of people excluded from the draft National Register of Citizens was lower in districts bordering Bangladesh, that have a sizeable Muslim population, than those where Hindus were in majority.

The government on Thursday, had placed in the Assembly, district-wise figures of the people left out of the highly-contentious NRC, which is being updated under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

The development took place despite apex court’s directive to the NRC State coordinator to submit before it the details in a sealed cover, as the matter was ‘a human problem with great magnitude’.

PTI had erroneously reported on Thursday that the percentage of people excluded from the draft NRC was higher in districts along the Indo-Bangladesh border.

Assam Accord Implementation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary laid the district-wise list of inclusions, rejections and non-inclusion of applicants’ names in the NRC.

The list showed the total number of applicants was 3,29,91,385 out of which 40,07,717 names (12.15 per cent) were not included. The percentage of excluded names in the districts bordering Bangladesh, such as South Salmara was 7.22, Dhubri 8.26 and Karimganj 7.67. Non-border districts Hojai and Darrang have the highest non-inclusion rate at 32.99 per cent and 30.90 per cent, respectively.

“It is a matter of concern that the percentage of names excluded from the draft NRC is higher in the Bangladesh border districts compared to the rest of the State,” Patowary said.

The NRC coordinator came under fire from ruling BJP members who expressed doubt whether a correct NRC will ever be published.

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