NPR is disguised NRC in form and content, says Sonia Gandhi

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Saturday said the National Population Register (NPR) 2020 being conducted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Central government was a "disguised NRC in form and content" and noted her party-led governments should take a "wise and uniform decision" on the NPR.

In her remarks at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here, Gandhi said there should not be an illusion that the NPR is a benign exercise.

She said the government first thought that the NRC exercise could be carried out throughout the country but after the disastrous results of the Assam NRC, the government has hit upon the idea of NPR.

"Let us not be under any illusion that the NPR is a benign exercise. In form and content, the NPR 2020 is a disguised NRC. As a party in government in several states, we must take a wise and uniform decision on NPR," she said.

The Union Cabinet last month approved Rs 3,941.35 crore for updating the NPR and another Rs 8,754.23 crore for the Census 2021 exercise.