New Delhi, August 29: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Thursday reiterated that non-inclusion of a person's name in the final list of National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam does not amount to his or her being declared a foreigner. The Supreme Court has set August 31 as the deadline for publishing the final draft of the NRC, aimed at weeding out illegal immigrants from Assam. Assam NRC Row: Police Initiates Action Against Miscreants Spreading Misinformation Through Social Media.

"Every individual left out from final NRC can appeal to Foreigners Tribunals (FTs), an increased number of which are being established," the spokesperson of MHA tweeted. The ministry assured all legal assistance to persons whose names have been wrongly excluded from the final list of NRC through the District Legal Service Authorities. It further urged the people to not believe in rumours related to the final publication of the NRC.

MHA Spokesperson's Tweet on NRC:

Earlier this month, Union Home Minister Amit Shah held a review meeting on the NRC and decided to raise the time-limit for filing appeals in foreigners tribunals to 120 days from the existing 60 days. According to an MHA press release, the Assam government, during the meeting, said it will provide full opportunity and assistance to persons whose names have been wrongly excluded from final NRC to appeal against their non-inclusion and they can move Foreigner Tribunals (FT).

"It was decided that adequate arrangements will be made by the state government to provide full opportunity to the persons whose names have been excluded from the final NRC to appeal against their non-inclusion," the release said. The Assam government, according to the release, has agreed to set up the adequate number of such tribunals at convenient locations and would also make arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy people amongst those excluded from the NRC.

The Supreme Court had last month extended the timeline for the final publication of NRC from July 31 to August 31. The apex court, however, had rejected a plea to extend the NRC deadline for sample verification.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 29, 2019 03:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).