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Published 20:21 IST, September 1st 2019

'NRC not biased', says MEA, clarifies 'those excluded not stateless'

As the final list of Assam's NRC final list was out on Saturday, with 3,11,21,004 Assam residents included and 19,06,657 excluded, the MEA issued a statement.

Reported by: Navashree Nandini
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As the final list of Assam's National Register of Citizens (NRC) is out on Saturday, with 3,11,21,004 Assam residents included and 19,06,657 excluded, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement saying that those whose name are not in the list will not be 'stateless' Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday, MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that those not in final NRC list will not be detained. He also added that the state of Assam has assured provision of free legal assistance to any person excluded from the final list. He added that the facility is to enable people, especially disadvantaged sections, to have access to best possible legal assistance. Listen to MEA spokesperson's full statement below: 

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NRC Final List Out

The NRC office has stated that hard copies of the Supplementary list of inclusions will be at the public view at NRC Seva Kendras (NSK). The same list will also be available at the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and Circle officer during office hours -  10 am to 4 pm. The final list has been published on Saturday- 31 August 2019 at 10 AM. The state coordinator has stated that those not satisfied with the outcome can file an appeal before Foreigners Tribunals. Here's the link to check the final NRC list: http://nrcassam.nic.in/

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What is the NRC?

The NRC was first prepared in 1951 under the purview of the Census Act, 1948.  An updation process was started in 2013 and ended with the receipt of forms by the NRC authorities on 31 August 2015. The process aimed at separating genuine Indian citizens from undocumented immigrants living in Assam. As per NRC terms, a resident has to prove that they or their ancestors entered Assam before midnight on March 24, 1971. Anyone failing to do so will be declared a foreigner.

According to the NRC press release, 3,30,27,661 Assam residents have had to prove their Indian citizenship. Previously in December 2017, the first draft was published in which 140 lakh people were included. Further, in July 2018, the second draft was published where more than 40 lakh people were excluded. Apart from these drafts, an additional exclusion list was published on June 26, 2019, where names of 1,02,463 people were published. These persons were earlier included in the draft.

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Assam NRC Final list here: 3.11 crore included, 19.06 lakh excluded

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18:49 IST, September 1st 2019