Karnataka Govt Drops NRC Plan, To Create Citizen Database: Report

A National Register of Citizens (NRC) officer takes a photograph of a boy at an NRC centre.

(Photo: AP)

The Karnataka government has decided not to undertake an Assam-like National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise in the state.

According to a report in The Times of India, the decision comes 18 days after Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced the state would implement NRC soon.

Instead of NRC, the state will now create a database of overstaying foreign citizens and migrants without documents. According to the report, the change in stance is also partly due to practical difficulties in preparing and maintaining a registry like Assam.

The report quoted Bommai as saying:

“We’ll not introduce an Assam-like NRC. However, we are considering compiling details of citizens that must help the government in tracking down illegal and overstaying foreign nationals.”

According to the Foreigners’ Regional Registration Office (FRRO), 800 foreign nationals have been overstaying in Karnataka. The database is expected to focus on these overstaying citizens first.

Even though the NRC plans have been put on hold, the detention centre in Nelamangala would be operationalised. This is pitched to be the first detention centre for illegal immigrant in south India.