Left parties to create awareness against Citizenship Act, NRC, NPR from March 1

Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said that left parties will create house to house awareness among the people across the country from March 1 to 23, about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the National Population Register (NPR) and to save the constitution.

Yechury told reporters here on Tuesday that along with CPI(M) 20 other left parties were participating in the awareness programme that will conclude on March 23, on the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajuguru and Chandrashekhar.

During the awareness programme, people will be asked to answer questions regarding census, but not regarding NPR or NRC. Officials will verify the answers given by the people during the NPR and certify them as genuine or doubtful and doubtful names will not figure in the NPR. Poor and marginalised classes, dalits and tribals who hardly documents to prove their citizenship as they keep on moving from one place to another to make a livelihood will face the brunt, he stated.

Until now 13 states have expressed their opposition for NRC and will not implement it which means more than half of the nation will not have it, Yechury added.

He said that violent protest in New Delhi during the CAA and NRC that claimed five lives were not acceptable. Authorities concerned failed to ensure that law and order during the protest were maintained and none spoke to protesters staging protest since three months that could have also led to the violence.

He said, when they had planned to hold protest against CAA and NRC during the month of December prohibitory orders were clamped and they had been arrested. Now protests are being staged since three months, but measures were taken to end them. It seems to appear that the centre wants to give the protest against CAA and NRC colour of Hindu versus Muslims and strengthen communal Hindutva.

He said, decisions like CAA, NRC and National Population Register (NPR) have led in virtual collapse of economy, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government has been in denial of economic recession despite GDP falling for the six consecutive quarters, farmers committing suicides, jobs being lost, public sector undertakings being sold and miseries of people mounting.

Union government allowing the protest in New Delhi to continue also appears to be tactics adopted to deviate focus of the people from problems grasping the country and economy, he expressed. EOM/raju