NPR = NRC Says Opposition, Amit Shah Denies Link

The Congress party led the opposition in mounting a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government accusing it of conducting the National Register for Citizens (NRC) in the garb of National Population Register (NPR). In an interview to a news agency, Union Home Minister Amit Shah sought to explain the difference between NPR and NRC and allay the fears of those who equated the two.

Shah said the NPR exercise will help the union government as well as states to drive welfare schemes for the poor and backward sections of society, including minorities.

The opposition parties, however, were not impressed. The Congress admitted that it had initiated the NPR exercise, but accused the ruling BJP of linking it to NRC. Congress spokesman, Ajay Maken referred to the 2018-19 annual report of the Union Home ministry which said that NPR is the first step towards NRC. He said that was a sign that the Modi government was keen on NRC.

Sitaram Yechury of the CPM described the NPR as an exercise identical to NRC. He equated the two saying NPR = NRC and accused the BJP government of misleading the people. Yechury added that the Union government itself admitted in the Rajya Sabha in November 2014 that NPR is the base document for the NRC process.

Hyderabad Lok Sabha MP, Asaduddin Owaisi claimed that the NPR was directly linked to NRC. The AIMIM president shared a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release from November 2014 to substantiate his point. The press note reads:" The NPR is a register of all the usual residents, which includes citizens and non-citizens....NPR is the first move to words the creation of NRC..." Owaisi also shared a document from the official Census India website to reiterate his claim.

While the Modi government has allocated Rs. 3941.35 crore for updating the NPR, its implementation, as of now, appears to be fraught with challenges.