T'gana govt will decide on NRC, NPR when Centre notifies it: K

Telangana Minister for IT and Industries K T Rama Rao on Thursday said the state government will take a call on the implementation of NPR and NRC in the state after the Centre officially communicates on the issues.

Speaking to media here, the TRS party working president advised the BJP to focus more on contemporary issues such as sluggishness in economy, job creation and escalating fuel prices rather than religion and other parties.

"For NPR or NRC, we have not received any official communiqu from the government of India. When it comes, I'm sure, the Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao will deliberate.

The cabinet will sit.. we will sit with other important people and take a decision as a government. There is no need for anybody to apprehend and have a prejudice that TRS has deviated from its earlier stand," Rama Rao said.

Replying to a query on the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM partys request to the state government to stay work on NRC on the lines of Kerala, he said it was not binding on other states to follow the decision of the coastal state.

The Kerala Assembly had last monthpassed a resolution demanding scrapping of the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, becoming the first state in the country to do so.

"That is not binding (on us). They've done as per their convenience. There could be a demand (on TRS Government) to follow suit. We will deliberate when the situation is right and will come out with our own action plan," he added.

The TRS party opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act in the parliament alleging that it is not inclusive in the current form.

According to the act, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014 and are facing religious persecution there, will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.