CMs opposing NRC must stop NPR in their states, says CPI (M)

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday urged Chief Ministers of all states which opposed the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to stop the National Population Register (NPR) exercise in their jurisdiction.

The press release by the CPI (M) states that the Centre has plans to use the data collected from NPR for "creating the NRC".

"Notwithstanding the untruths of Prime Minister Modi, it is abundantly clear that the NPR will lay the foundation for the NRC. At least 12 Chief Ministers have announced that the NRC will not be implemented in their states. The Chief Ministers of Kerala and West Bengal have decided not to proceed on the NPR as well. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) appeals to all the Chief Ministers, who have opposed the NRC, to ensure that the NPR exercise is abandoned in their states," the release read.

Through its release, the Polit Bureaus said, "By the amendment of the Citizenship Act of 1955 and the rules notified on December 10, 2003 by the Vajpayee government, the National Population Register is the basis on which the National Register of Citizens is prepared. It is clear that the NPR is the first stage of the exercise to implement the NRC."

The remarks have came on the day the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for conducting Census of India 2021 and updation of National Population Register.

Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has clarified that NPR and NRC have no links and they are different exercises not interlinked with each other.