HYDERABAD: Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao said he has no birth certificate to prove that he was born in India while referring to the National Population Register (NPR) survey for Census-2020.
Addressing the State Legislative Assembly on Saturday, he said he was born at his house as there were no hospitals at that time and the village priest gave him the Nama Patram. "If someone asks me if I am an Indian citizen, how can I prove it?" the Chief Minister asked.
Introduce NIC
In his reply in the Assembly and later in the Council to the motion of thanks to Governor’s address, he said: “When I was born, my family had 500 acres of land. My house was built in two acres of land. I have been in politics since 1980. Even with such a background, I do not have my birth certificate. Then, where will I bring my father’s birth certificate from? If this is my situation, imagine the fate of the poor, Dalits, BCs and other sections of the society," Rao said, while expressing concern over the NPR.
The Chief Minister suggested to the Central government to introduce national identity card (NIC) instead of NPR or NRC. Opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Rao said excluding people belonging to one religion was wrong and it was against the preamble of the Constitution of India. "We (TRS) will certainly raise our voice against this," Rao said and added that the CAA and NPR were of immense concern to him.
Resolution to be adopted against CAA, NPR
The Chief Minister reiterated that a resolution opposing the CAA and NPR would be adopted in the current session of the State Legislative Assembly. "It’s a different matter whether the Centre will accept it or not. But we will convey our views to it," Rao said. He felt that the Assembly should debate the subject that was rocking the entire nation.
"We will allot at least three hours for discussion on the issue. If necessary, half a day will be allotted to debate the CAA and NPR," Rao said. He said the Congress and the BJP members too should participate in the debate and express their views on the CAA and NPR.
On the NPR, Rao said the census should be completed in 45 days and they had time up to September 30 to finish the work. There was no need to hurry to do it now.
Finance Minister T Harish Rao to present Budget today
HYDERABAD: Finance Minister T Harish Rao would present the Budget 2020-21 in the State Legislative Assembly on Sunday at 11.30 am, while Legislative Affairs Minister Vemula Prasanth Reddy would present the Budget in the State Legislative Council. The State Cabinet that met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Saturday at Pragathi Bhavan approved the Budget 2020-21, a day ahead of its presentation.