PM Narendra Modi (File photo)

GUWAHATI: In a letter to PM Narendra Modi , Mizoram’s lone BJP MLA Buddha Dhan Chakma and other representatives of the Chakma community have accused the Mizo National Front government of carrying out an “illegal NRC survey” to identify recent settlers in a particular district and verify their nationality.

“The illegal survey has be- en conducted in at least 14 Chakma-inhabited villages of Lunglei district. No such survey is being conducted in any Mizo-inhabited village,” they say in the letter. Buddhist Chakmas are a minority in Christian-dominated Mizoram. They are spread across two districts, bordering Bangladesh.

“On February 13, an officer of the Lunglei district administration issued a notice to the presidents of the village councils, asking them to participate in the illegal NRC under the garb of verification and identification of unauthorised settlements,” the letter alleges. In a pro forma, villagers were asked for their names, places of birth, nationality and religion. People had to mention the villages they last lived in along with descriptions of the places and the period of stay.

