'No one will be declared a foreigner immediately' says MHA; So what’s next in store for those excluded in NRC list?

Guwahati, August 31: With the ultimate result of the National Register of Citizen being released on Saturday, there are more than 19 lakh people of over 3.11 crore excluded by further setting up detention centres for those declared ‘foreigners’ after exhausting all legal routes. But for those whose names are not included in the list, the Ministry of Home Affairs has assured that those excluded in the final list will not be immediately sent to dentition centres and they can appeal.

 

Speaking to the media, a Home Affairs Ministry official stated that those excluded could move Foreigners Tribunals, [there is] 120 days window to appeal. No one will be declared a foreigner immediately, no one will be sent to detention centres.

For those excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on August 31 will get a window of up to 10 months to prove their citizenship before being sent to detention centres. However, the Centre had in June decided to help Assam create e-Foreigners’ Tribunals and increase the number of Foreigners’ Tribunals which is quasi-judicial establishments headed by members who are lawyers and retired judges and bureaucrats from the existing 100 to 1,000.

At least 200 of the additional Foreigners’ Tribunals are expected to be set up by September with the government already having appointed 221 new members. Each person excluded will have a maximum of 120 days or four months from the date of publication of the final NRC to challenge his or her case at a Foreigners’ Tribunal, which has to dispose of the case within six months.

Some 100 paralegals in Assam have been trained to help defend the citizenship of people whose names will be excluded from the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The three-day training was organised last week by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a non-governmental organisation, in Guwahati to “navigate the complex issue of citizenship after the publication of the list”

For those who made it to the NRC final list:

Aadhaar cards will be issued to all those who were excluded in the draft NRC but could get entry in the final list. This will happen as NRC authorities have taken biometric data from more than 36 lakh people who have claimed Indian citizenship after their exclusion from the draft NRC published on July 30, 2018.

However, those who may be excluded from the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) and cannot prove their Indian citizenship after pursuing legal process will not be eligible for obtaining Aadhaar cards anywhere in the country as their biometrics will be flagged.

As many as 3,11,21,004 persons found eligible for inclusion in final NRC list. More than 19 lakh of the 3.29 crore applicants in Assam were left out of the final National Register of Citizens. State Home Department officials said though the NRC was called ‘final’, the 19,06,657 people excluded would have opportunities to be back on the citizens’ list if they appeal against their exclusion and establish their citizenship via courts.