Nitish opposes govt’s tweaking of NPR format

Patna: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on Tuesday said that the Central government should continue with the old format of the National Population Register (NPR) that was used in 2011 to avoid confusion.

Mr Kumar who is the JD(U)’s national president and had been running a coalition government with the BJP, said that his party would request the government to consider dropping fresh columns seeking birth details of parents.

“The NPR has been there since 2011 but all of us believe that adding questions about parents’ birth details are likely to create confusion. Several people in our country are not aware of their parent’s birth details. The government should consider using the old format,” Mr Kumar told reporters in Patna.

Political parties, who have dubbed the NPR as the first step towards National Register of Citizens (NRC), have been of the view that the government may use it in the future while implementing a pan-India NRC.

Last month while speaking in the state Assembly, he had opposed the NRC and said that the “exercise would not be implemented in Bihar. The Prime Minister has also clarified about the issue”.

His categorical statement on the issue of the NRC had caused unease among a few BJP leaders who have been urging the Centre to implement the exercise across the
country.

On Tuesday, he also expressed concerns over the ongoing nationwide protests on the issue of Citizenship Amendment Act and said that the matter is in the Supreme Court and “people who have doubt should wait for the court to hear the petition about the issue and decide”.