Sarbananda Sonowal appealed to the people of Assam to cooperate in the exercise of finalising the NRC

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday apprised Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the current status of the NRC exercise in a meeting and sought additional central forces ahead of publication of the final list on August 31.

The meeting took place hours after the Supreme Court ordered that the list of those excluded from the final NRC only be published online. A few days ago, the top court had rejected the central and Assam government's plea for sample re-verification to find out wrongful inclusions of names.

"I have apprised the home minister about the the ongoing process of the NRC and reviewed the prevailing situation in Assam. I have also requested the home minister to provide additional security forces," Mr Sonowal told reporters.

The chief minister also appealed to the people of Assam to cooperate in the exercise of finalising the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

A bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice R F Nariman on Tuesday said like Aadhaar data, an appropriate regime should be enacted for securing the NRC data.

It had earlier said the final Assam NRC would be published on or by August 31.

The bench had also brushed aside criticism and statements made in the Assam Assembly and outside relating to the exercise carried out for the NRC and had asked the Centre to adhere to the deadline.