Assam govt to provide legal aid to needy people excluded from NRC list: MHA

The Assam government will provide legal aid to the needy people from amongst those who have been excluded from the final list of the National Register of Citizens (NRC), according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

"State government has also made necessary arrangements to provide legal aid to the needy people amongst those excluded from NRC final list, by providing all assistance through the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSA)," a tweet by the official handle of the spokesperson of MHA on Tuesday read.

It added that no person whose name has been excluded from the NRC list will be detained by the authorities and can challenge his exclusion from the list using the remedial measures provided.

"Persons left out of NRC final list NOT to be detained under any circumstance till they exhaust all remedies available under law. Such persons to continue to enjoy all rights as earlier, like any other citizen, example right to employment, education, property etc," another tweet read.

The spokesperson, in another tweet, added that 200 new Foreigners' Tribunal in addition to the ones which are already functional will be opened to hear the appeal of the people in Assam.

"Adequate judicial process available for affected persons to appeal to Foreigners' Tribunal within 120 days from August 8. To facilitate appeal, 200 new FTs to be functional from today, in addition to 100 already existing," the tweet on Monday read.

The spokesperson tweeted a day after over 19 lakh people were excluded from the final NRC list that was published on August 30.

NRC State Coordinator Prateek Hajela had said that a total of 3,11,21,004 persons are found eligible for inclusion in final NRC, leaving out 19,06,657 persons, including those who did not submit their claims.

The list is aimed at segregating Indian citizens living in Assam from those who had illegally entered the state from Bangladesh.