New Delhi, 20 Nov : The National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be implemented nationwide, said Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, asserting that no person from any religion need to be afraid of it.

“The NRC exercise is monitored by the Supreme Court. No religion has been targeted or isolated during the NRC exercise,” said Shah responding to a query of Congress leader Syed Nasir Hussain. The MP asked whether the NRC provides citizenship to immigrants of six non-Muslim faiths.

Shah said NRC and The Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016, which lapsed on June 3, 2019, are two different issues and both should not be seen through one prism. Shah said people whose names are missing from the NRC can approach tribunals formed at the tehsil level. The Assam government will provide financial help to those who don’t have the money to file pleas, he said. Shah said the government would bear the cost of hiring a lawyer.

The updated final NRC, which validates genuine Indian citizens, has left out over 19 lakh applicants in Assam. Most of these are people who have not produced required documents to prove their claims and have the option of appealing to Foreigners’ Tribunals and subsequently approach the courts.

In Assam, the NRC aims to identify illegal immigrants who entered the state and settled after March 25, 1971.