Trivandrum, February 7 (IANS). Kerala Chief Minister Pinnarai Vijayan on Saturday clarified that the National Population Register (NPR) will not be implemented in the state under any circumstances.
As the nationwide census in 2027 approaches, the LDF government has issued a new notification ensuring that no data will be collected for the NPR. This decision has been taken to maintain the strong stance of the state since 2019.
CM Vijayan posted on social media platform
He said, “Kerala was the first state to challenge the unconstitutional CAA in the Supreme Court and pass a resolution against it in the Assembly. We are committed to protecting constitutional values and will not allow discriminatory processes like NPR/NRC to become a threat to our people.”
The General Administration (Protocol) Department of the state government issued a notification in the Extraordinary Gazette on February 5, stating that all activities related to NPR updation will remain suspended in the state from December 20, 2019. The Chief Minister’s Office clarified that this step has been taken after the allocation of Rs 6,000 crore for NPR and Census 2027 in the recent Union Budget, so that there is no ambiguity. With the implementation of CAA in 2019, Kerala had stopped the NPR process as it was linked to NRC and considered discriminatory against minorities.
Kerala first filed a petition against CAA in the Supreme Court and passed a resolution in the Assembly. The LDF government says that processes like NPR/NRC are against constitutional values and can pose a threat to the security of the people of the state.
–IANS
SCH
