The Ministry Of Home Affairs clarified on Monday that those individuals who have been not been included in the Assam Nation Register of Citizens (NRC) list will be able to avail adequate judicial process. The individuals can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunal within 120 days. The ministry's statement said that 200 new Foreigner's Tribunal will be made functional from Monday, in addition to the 100 tribunals that are already functional.

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NRC list release

The NRC list was published on August 31 and it is a register of Indian citizens living in Assam. The list was released by the Government of Assam but various arms of the state and central government have been working on registry. As per the NRC rules, any individual who cannot prove that they or their ancestors entered the country before midnight of March 24, 1971 would be declared as a foreigner and can face deportation. The first NRC list was compiled in 1951. The list updated and released on Sunday included 3,11,21,004 individuals and excluded 19,06,657 individual. 

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Statement by the Ministry

The Ministry on Monday said that those who have been excluded from the list will not face immediate detention and will not face any consequences till all the remedies available to them are exhausted. These individuals will continue to enjoy all the rights they are granted under the constitution of India and can purchase property, avail education and can be employed as well. It was also mentioned that, through the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA), legal aid will be made available to those who are needy and the Government of Assam has made all the necessary arrangements for the same. A statement made earlier also stated the following, "Under the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 and the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order, 1964, only foreigners’ tribunals are empowered to declare a person foreigner. Thus, non-inclusion of a person's name in NRC does not by itself amount to him/her being declared as a foreigner". Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal also made a statement to pacify those who were excluded from the list saying, "No one should be worried. No one should panic. Government is here to take care of everyone. Even those who will be excluded from the final list will get enough opportunity to prove their Indian citizenship". 

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