INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Assam "need not worry" for now, they can vote if their name is on the electoral rolls, India's top election officer said on Wednesday.There
is a massive political controversy after the new list or National Register of Citizens (NRC) excluded 4 million people from Assam in a drive
against illegal immigrants from Bangladesh
The ruling BJP has been accused of targeting these people for political reasons."Those left out of the Assam citizen's list can vote if
their names are in the voter's list
The Election Commission will publish a voter list in January and will not wait for the final NRC," Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat told
TheIndianSubcontinent.Political sparring has peaked ahead of a string of state elections and the national polls in 2019.The draft National
Register of Citizens is the result of a years-long agitation by residents of Assam demanding expulsion of immigrants from Bangladesh just
over the border.Exclusions from the list released on Monday have given ammunition to opposition parties to band together against the
government.West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee yesterday warned against "civil war and bloodbath".
