Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal urged the people of the state to maintain peace as the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be published on August 31.
In a statement released on August 30, the chief minister said that the NRC, which has been updated by the State NRC Coordinator and his team under the monitoring of the Supreme Court of India and supervision of the Registrar General of India, is an outcome of the untiring efforts of the thousands of people. Sonowal expressed his gratitude to the people of Assam for their unconditional support which has yielded into the updating the NRC.
Sonowal said that those people whose names have been excluded from the NRC will get opportunity to file their appeal and be heard in the Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) as per the direction of the Union home ministry.
He also said that the extension of filing an appeal from 60 days to 120 days to the FT will help all the excluded persons to enjoy a level playing field. The chief minister further said that the state government will take care of the cause of the excluded people and due care will be taken so that nobody is subjected to any unnecessary harassment.
Sonowal also maintained that as long as appellant’s plea remains sub-judice with the Foreigner’s Tribunal, he or she cannot be treated as foreigner. Sonowal appealed to the people of the state to maintain peace and set an example of a matured society.
