Guwahati: Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi said the recent electoral roll of Assam was based on the voter list of 1967 and thus all those voters should be included directly in the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

"The Election Commission had prepared the voter list by examining the linkage with 1967's electoral roll. From the 1991 Assembly election, this electoral roll has been used. So, all the names included in the voter list should be directly included in the NRC," Gogoi said.

Demanding a correct NRC as soon as possible, Gogoi said, "The Assam Accord fixed the deadline to detect illegal citizens to 1971. The recent voter list is based on 1967, and all voters also have voter ID cards. So, it will be an easy method for the government to finish the NRC as soon as possible. I will write to NRC officials on this issue. The NRC is incomplete only because the government is taking an indirect approach. It also proves that the BJP does not want to complete the NRC."

"A voter should be a citizen but a citizen may not be a voter. So, in some sense the voter list is superior to the NRC. Again, if a foreigner is detected on the voter list, the Election Commission is responsible and the government should take stern action against officials responsible for the error," the former chief minister said.