Tense wait for 40lakh : Assam final citizens list to be out today.
Govt says those left out can appeal before a tribunal.
The final Assam citizens list to be published online at 10 am today, over a year after the first list that identifies whether a person is an Indian or a foreigner was released. The names of over 41 lakh people don't appear in the draft National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam. The announcement of the final NRC list is likely to be the biggest development in PM Narendra Modi's second term after the centre move to scrap special status from Jammu and Kashmir and divide it into two union Territories.
The list would be available online by 10 and those who do not have internet connection can go to Seva kendras set up by the state government to check their status.
The centre has said people whose names don't appear in the final NRC cannot be declared foreigners till all legal options are exhausted. Every person left out of the NRC can appeal to the Foreigners Tribunals, and the time limit has been extended from 60 to 120 days.
The home minister said at least 1,000 tribunals will be set up in phase to hear dispute cases; 100 tribunals are already operational and 200 more will be opened in the first week of September. If one loses the case in the tribunal one can approach the high court and then the supreme court. No one will be put in detention center until all legal options are exhausted.
Security has been tightened in the north eastern state bordering Bangladesh, and any gathering of more than four people at several public places are banned especially at sensitive areas that have seen violence in the past including Guwahati. The centre has sent 20,000 additional paramilitary forces to Assam.
The centre has said it will give legal aid to those who have been left out of the NRC through the district legal services authorities. The ruling BJP in Assam and it's rival Congress plan to assist some "genuine" people whose names are missing in the NRC.
Some BJP leaders have concerned over a large number of Bengali Hindus being left out of the NRC. Assam chief minister Sabananda Sonowal, after meeting with Home minister Amit Shah last week, said the centre may consider bringing in a law to remove foreigners who could have entered the list and add genuine citizens who could have left out.
