While it’s the norm for BJP ministers to say different things about the same topic, CAA-NRC protest have shown that ministers aren’t even on the same page when it comes to the NRC.
From Parliament to rally speeches, the BJP has been batting for NRC and yet PM Modi said at RamLeela Maidan that ‘no discussions on NRC had taken place’.
On Tuesday, Prakash Javadekar said that the NPR wouldn’t be used as NRC.
He was quoted saying by news agency ANI: “We have never said that NPR (National Population Register) will be used as NRC (National Register of Citizens). I completely deny.”
Yet on Nov 2014, MoS Home Kiren Rijiju had told Rajya Sabha that NPR was the first step towards creation of the NRIC.
He had said: “The National Population Register (NPR) is a register of all the usual residents which include citizens and non-citizens as well. The NPR is the first step towards creation of National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) by verifying the citizenship status of every usual residents. There is no proposal to merge the existing Aadhar database to the NPR under consideration of the Government. The biometrics enrolment in the 12 NPR States/UTs, namely; J&K, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh, Lakshadweep, Tamil Nadu and Dadra &Nagar Haveli will be completed by June, 2015.
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval for the National Population Register (NPR) with no requirement by the people to submit any document to prove their identity.
Announcing the decision taken in the Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said no proof will be sought from people during the process of NPR beginning April, 2020.
"There is no need of any proof, document and biometric as we believe on people. Whatever you will say would be correct. All states have accepted and notified it. The states have also started their campaign," Javadekar said while addressing a press briefing.
"NPR will be on self declaration basis and only head count will be done."
It will be conducted by the Office of the Registrar General of India (RGI) under the Union Home Ministry and will be done before the 2021 census.
As per the proposal, the exercise to update the NPR would be held in all states and Union Territories between April and September 2020.
The NPR was started in 2010 by the UPA government led by the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ahead of Census 2011.
The NPR is a register of residents of the country.
It is being prepared at the local (village/sub-town), sub-district, district, state and national level under the provisions of the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Citizenship (Registration of Citizens and Issue of National Identity Cards) Rules, 2003.
