Assam has been made out of bounds for foreign journalists as the Centre declared it restricted category by the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs following the controversy generated by the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
A female reporter of wire agency Associated Press (AP) wasrecently escorted by the Assam Police to the airport and put in the nextavailable flight to Delhi, sources in the Foreign Correspondents' Club of SouthAsia told reporters at New Delhi.
"She was politely told by Assam government officials toleave the State and first procure the necessary permission from the Governmentof India," sources added.
The Government took the decision after the foreign media and section of 'metro media' were reporting false picture of Assam in regard of the NRC.
So far foreign media were barred from entering only Jammu and Kashmir and a few hills states of the Northeast on reporting assignments. But now, Assam has been added in the protected area list along with other northeastern states, Home Ministry sources said.
When contacted sources in the Ministry of External Affairs said that foreign journalists will now have to seek permission from the MEA and subject to final clearance by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the go-ahead will be given.
The foreign media was so biased against the NRC exercise that the MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Sunday had to clarify that the NRC was not an executive-driven process, but rather an exercise mandated and monitored by the Supreme Court. "There have been some commentaries in a section of foreign media about aspects of final NRC which are incorrect," he added.
Meanwhile, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) chief Filippo Grandi has voiced concern at the publication of the NRC inAssam that could leave some 1.9 million people in danger of becoming stateless.
"I appeal to India to ensure that no one is renderedstateless by this action, including by ensuring adequate access to information,legal aid, and legal recourse in accordance with the highest standards of dueprocess," he said in a statement in Geneva.
Although the nationality status of the approximately 1.9million people left off the NRC is not known, many are at risk of statelessnessif they do not have another nationality, the UNHCR warned.
"Any process that could leave large numbers of peoplewithout a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts to eradicatestatelessness," Grandi warned in his reaction late on Sunday.
The UNHCR also urged the government to take action over anysimilar processes that could occur in other Indian states and urged authoritiesnot to deport anyone whose nationality had not been verified.
The UN agency also repeated its offer to help the Indiangovernment determine people's nationality and prevent statelessness "inaccordance with its mandate and international standards".
