Non-BJP states raise questions on NPR at MHA meeting

Non-BJP-ruled states like Kerala and Rajasthan on Friday raised concerns and objections over the National Population Register (NPR) exercise during a meeting convened by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

West Bengal government did not attend the meeting.

The day-long conference was called to discuss the modalities to be adopted during the house-listing phase of Census 2021 and the NPR to be carried out from April 1 to September 30, 2020, along with it.

Sources said that the senior official representing Kerala told the meeting that the state has put on hold the NPR exercise and it could participate only after the Centre allays its concerns.

However, the Kerala official told the meeting that the state will cooperate with the Census-related operations, as such data is important for any planning activities.

New methodology questioned

During the meeting, officials of Congress-led Rajasthan government questioned the new methodology and said that certain questions like the birthplace of parents were “impractical”.

“We said certain questions in NPR are impractical, like questions related to the birthplace of parents. There are many people in the country who even don’t know what was their birthplace. I don’t know what is the purpose of such questions and we have told the meeting to remove such questions,” Rajasthan Chief Secretary D B Gupta told reporters.

Officials of a few other states also raised similar concerns, he said adding that the central government officials clarified that answers to such questions were not mandatory but voluntary.

“They said such questions were asked earlier also and this time they have just linked with an individual’s place of birth with his or her parent’s place of birth. But they said the answer to this question is not mandatory,” he said.

CPM-led Kerala and West Bengal governments have put on hold NPR exercise. Kerala and Congress-led Punjab have adopted resolutions against the exercise.

In the meeting, central government officials gave presentations on the objectives of the Census and the NPR exercises.

The state officials were also briefed on the Census mobile App, which will be used in the census for the first time.

Inaugurating the conference, Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said that data collected in the Census helps the government in framing policies for the welfare of the people of the country.

The meeting was also attended by Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla among others.

However, as announced by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the state government officials skipped the meeting.