The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday completely rejected a media report stating that Assam has been included in the category of protected area due to uproar on the National Civil Register (NRC). Also, foreign journalists have been asked to leave the state.

Union Home Ministry spokeswoman Vasudha Gupta made the tweet clear from the department's official Twitter handle, 'Any foreign journalist can go to Assam with the permission of the Ministry of External Affairs, whether he is already posted in India or not. The Ministry of External Affairs internally consults the Ministry of Home Affairs in this regard before issuing permission. There is no Protected Area Permit (PAP) or Restricted Area Permit (RAP) zone in Assam. Therefore foreign journalists do not need PAP or RAP. '

He further said, 'The information given in the above article is misleading and inaccurate. Neither the Ministry of Home Affairs nor the Ministry of External Affairs provided information in the article. The responsibility of publishing such information and its consequences lies solely with the concerned media house.