Govt using NPR to bring NRC by backdoor: Congress

New Delhi: Claiming the Narendra Modi government was trying to bring in the National Register of Citizens (NRC) under the garb of the National Population Register (NPR), the Congress on Thursday said questions related to the NRC would be asked in the forms meant for the NPR.

The main Opposition party also said it would oppose the government if it tries to link the NPR with the NRC and alleged it infringes upon the citizens’ right to privacy.

“The BJP government is trying to bring in the NRC in the garb of the NPR. The BJP government wants to polarise society,” Congress spokes-man Ajay Maken said.

He said that the questions asked in the NPR pre-test questionnaire are not required for the exercise. Asked whether he was saying that the NPR proposed by the Congress would have not led to the NRC, Mr Maken said: “Absolutely, because the questions which they have added now... all these questions are what are required for the NRC and in no way the questions which they have added are required for the usual residents’ definition.

“So the definition of usual resident does not require the additional information they are seeking now. So why are they seeking the additional information, which is not at all required?”

Questioned about the 2003-06 pilot project done by the then UPA government, the Congress spokesman said: “As per the Citizenship Act, they were supposed to prove citizenship, and it is the same in Assam. The cut-off was there as per the Citizenship Act, but as I said we found it was so cumbersome, so difficult to reject or accept citizenship that the committee of secretaries, and then the  Empowered Group of Ministers decided that we should not continue with it.”