Kerala govt issues order to stop NPR-related activities

The Kerala government has issued an order to immediately stall all activities related to the National Population Register in the state after its earlier order to initiate NPR preparation in 2020 raised many eyebrows.

Even as the left-front government in Kerala made a call to boycott the new citizenship law, it faced embarrassment as an earlier order of the Kerala General Administration Department stating that NPR preparation would be initiated in Kerala in April-May 2020 as part of Census remained intact.

As soon as it became a controversy on Friday, the Kerala government issued an order by evening stalling all activities related to the NPR.

According to the order issued by the General Administration Department Principal Secretary K R Jyothilal, considering the apprehensions among the general public that NPR related activities may lead to National Register of Citizens in the wake of Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the state government orders to stay all activities connected with the updation of the NPR in the state forthwith.

A statement from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that since the CAA was a deviation from the Constitution and it was under Supreme Court review, the Kerala government would not initiate steps for NPR preparation at this point.

West Bengal government had recently stayed NPR-related activities.