Amit Shah backtracks on pan-India NRC, says no discussion on it right now

NEW DELHI: Seeking to put an end to apprehensions about updation of National Population Register (NPR), Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that there was no link between the National Population Register (NPR) exercise and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Shah said that information obtained through NPR cannot be used for NRC which was a separate process.

He also added that the union cabinet has not ever discussed NRC. He said, "There is no need to debate this (pan-India NRC) as there is no discussion on it right now. Modi was right and there is no discussion on it yet either in the Cabinet or Parliament."

Shah had earlier claimed in both Houses of Parliament that a country-wide NRC would be implemented. In a recent poll rally in Jharkhand, he said, "I want to tell you that before the 2024 polls the NRC will be conducted across the country and each and every infiltrator identified and expelled."

Shah's remarks came on a day the Union cabinet approved the proposal for conducting the Census of India 2021 and updating of NPR.

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The minister said that while the NPR was started by the UPA government, the Centre was carrying it forward as it was a "good exercise".

"NPR is register of population, NRC is register of citizens. There is no link between the two and the two have different processes," Shah told ANI.

He said the names of people living in the country are in NPR based on which programmes are made. With West Bengal and Kerala having decided to put a stop to NPR exercise, Shah said there should not be politics over the exercise as it is aimed at benefitting citizens and for improving the planning of welfare schemes.

"I will talk and appeal to them that no politics should be done on this", Shah said.