Opposition parties demand CAA withdrawal, stoppage of NPR

Opposition parties, led by the Congress, demanded on Monday that the amended Citizenship Act should be withdrawn and the process of NPR immediately stopped, asserting that it was all part of an "unconstitutional package" that targeted poor people, SC/STs and minorities.

The assertion was made after a meeting of the Opposition, convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, during which the leaders of 20 parties deliberated on the current political situation in the country, following widespread protests against the amended Citizenship Act and the violence on campuses.

Significantly, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) stayed away from the meeting.

"The CAA, NPR and NRC is a package that is unconstitutional, which specifically targets the poor, the downtrodden, the SC/STs and the linguistic and religious minorities," the resolution adopted by the parties said.

"The NPR is the basis for the NRC. We demand the withdrawal of the CAA and the immediate stoppage of the nationwide NRC/NPR," it added.

Those chief ministers who have announced that they will not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in their states must consider to suspend the National Population Register (NPR) enumeration also as it is a prelude to the NRC, it said.