AJP blames CM Himanta for NRC ‘deception,’ alleges BJP sabotaged process to shield Hajela

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 27, 2025

The Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) has hit back at Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma over his recent remark dismissing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) as a “topi” (cap), accusing him of misleading the public and being directly complicit in derailing the process.

Responding to media queries on Monday, the Chief Minister had said: “NRC is a topi. A topi that Prateek Hajela put on everyone’s head, and all others together helped to put that cap on the people.” Sarma’s description of the exercise as “hoodwinking” has triggered strong condemnation from AJP, which argued that if the NRC was indeed a deception, the Chief Minister himself cannot escape responsibility.

In a press release, AJP president Lurinjyoti Gogoi and general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan called the CM’s statement “irresponsible, misleading, and deceptive.” They pointed out that Sarma had been closely associated with every stage of the NRC process since 2005, first as a cabinet minister, later as Finance Minister, and eventually as Chief Minister.

According to AJP, Sarma was part of every cabinet sub-committee on NRC between 2005 and 2021.

As Finance Minister, he approved the release of Rs 288.18 crore in 2013, later raised to Rs 1,220.93 crore in 2018, and Rs 1,602.66 crore subsequently—all funds accessed by NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela with his approval.

When the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) exposed massive financial irregularities in NRC funds in 2022, Sarma was Chief Minister.

In 2023, Hajela’s voluntary retirement was cleared under Sarma’s watch, as CM and minister in charge of the Personnel Department.

“In such a backdrop, is it at all possible that Prateek Hajela could have ‘hoodwinked’ the people of Assam, committed crimes, and left scot-free without the CM’s knowledge or consent?” Gogoi and Bhuyan questioned.

The party also asked why no legal action has been initiated against Hajela if he had indeed deceived the state. They alleged that despite an FIR filed by NRC Coordinator Hitesh Dev Sarma regarding financial irregularities, the CID—functioning under the CM—has not pursued the case.

Accusing Sarma of shielding Hajela, AJP claimed the two had a “special understanding” and that the CM deliberately prevented police action against the former NRC chief.

According to AJP, the BJP government, both in Delhi and Dispur, was never sincere about detecting and deporting foreigners. Instead, the NRC process was deliberately complicated and left incomplete, allowing Hajela to quietly leave Assam.

Calling it a “national misfortune” that the NRC was derailed despite BJP ruling both at the Centre and in the state, Gogoi and Bhuyan asserted that neither former CM Sarbananda Sonowal nor Himanta Biswa Sarma can absolve themselves of responsibility for the failure.