The two-man who piloted the NRC project over the past 6 years and shook the whole world excluding 19 lakhs of people from the Citizenship list shall not be there when the NRC case resumes on November 26.
Butthen what will happen to the whole NRC?
Whenthe court picks up the case again on November 26, at least two applications seeking vigorousreverfication would be awaiting besides the fate of 19 lakh excluded peoplewaiting for the rejection slip so that they could take next logical step.
Inthe midst a baffling move, the Supreme Court transferred out NRC CoordinatorPrateek Hajela ostensibly for the security reasons and the man who presidedover the whole episode Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi returning one weekbefore the next hearing.
So what will happen to NRC?
Nobody knows. The NRC secretariat has always been very peculiar. There are two verticals, one is administrative-finance and other is program. The administrative and finance side is manned by Assam Government officials while the program section has been manned by the program experts which are on contract.
With Hajela gone, who has been the pivotal point enjoining both, the NRC secretariat is now on the verge of collapse as there is no second person who can handle both the admin and program side.
The State Government would like to place someone in place of Hajela but the choice and time are very limited as the NRC has to generate rejection slips, mop up the admins and pay out the vendors.
Withnothing specific, the fate of everything from the secretariat to the 19 lakhspeople's fate hangs in balance.