Our Correspondent | EMN
Kohima, July 31
The first phase of the non local verification drive by the Angami Students’ Union (ASU) ended peacefully. The drive began on July 17 and registered a total of 4079 non locals residing in various parts of the state capital as daily wage workers and business men. The number is far below the registered number of 15,000 that the Students body had registered holding Inner Line Permits.The General Secretary of ASU Sede Angami remarked that the Inner Line Permit is to identify genuine Indian citizens, but in the drive the students’ body came across many instances where even the dead qualified as guarantors for the applicant and many permits contained incorrect dates of birth.
The majority of the non locals verified hailed from Karimganj district of Assam, bordering Bangladesh. The student leader said the criteria set by the district administration in issuing ILPs should be more stringent so that there is clear differentiation between genuine Indian citizen and illegal immigrants.
The detailed data will be submitted to the district administration for necessary action to handle the aggravating situation. The first phase of the verification drive was called off to accommodate the upcoming ASU Union Assembly scheduled for August 3.
