Delhi Assembly Passes Resolution Against NPR-NRC

New Delhi: In yet another boost to the anti CAA-NRC-NPR protests going on across the country, the Delhi Assembly on Friday passed a resolution against the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

At the one-day special session, which was held to discuss the NPR and the NRC, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested the Centre to withdraw them.

"Me, my wife, my entire cabinet don't have birth certificates to prove citizenship. Will we be sent to detention centres?" Kejriwal said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi chief minister challenged Union ministers to show whether they had birth certificates issued by the government.

In the Assembly, Kejriwal asked the MLAs to raise their hands if they had birth certificates, following which only nine legislators in the 70-member House raised their hands.

"Sixty-one members of the House do not have birth certificates," he said, adding "Will they be sent to detention centres?”

As per the Centre’s directive, the NPR process is slated to kick off on April 1, across the country along with the Census 2021 exercise.

The passage of the resolution against NPR/NRC in the Delhi Assembly, in which AAP has a majority, comes close on the heels of home minister Amit Shah saying in Rajya Sabha on Thursday that "no document is required for the National Population Register".

In reply to queries raised by Congress leader Kapil on what would happen when the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) was coupled with NPR, Shah said: "I clearly once again say, under the NPR, no document will be asked for. You don't have to provide any information you don't possess. Lastly, nobody will be marked 'doubtful'.

The Delhi Assembly resolution also comes a day after the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu, an electoral ally of the BJP, indicated that it would not take up work relating to the National Population Register (NPR) and declared that it had put on hold the issuing of a notification for now. The

According to New Indian Express, Tamil Nadu Revenue Minister R.B. Udhayakumar said NPR process will be put on hold till the Centre issued a clarification on the issues raised the state government.

He told mediapersons that the TN chief minister had written to the Central government seeking appropriate amendments to the provisions spelt out on the form as these had raised fears among the minority communities, especially Muslims.

When asked by reporters, the minister said the new details added to the NPR form were related to mother tongue, details about mother, father, spouse, date and place of birth, Aadhar card details, mobile number and driving licence.

So far, many states, mostly Opposition-ruled, have said they would not go ahead with the NPR in its present format, with some even passing resolutions to this effect. Among the states that have opposed the NPR are Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand among others. Even long-term BJP ally, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar of Janata Dal (United) has expressed reservations against the NPR.