Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Friday alleged that the government was indulging in doublespeak on updating of the National Population Register (NPR), despite promising that the State will not participate in the process being carried out as part of the 2021 census operations.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Chennithala said tahsildars across the State were in the process of taking steps for updating the NPR on the basis of a government circular.
He said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had retracted from an earlier circular on the NPR in July-August after the UDF created a hue and cry over this. The government issued another order annulling its earlier diktat on December 20.
However, it did not withdraw another order issued by its secret section on November 12 last year on the basis of the Census Department’s proposal that the NPR updating will be carried out along with the census operations. The tahsildars were now taking steps on the basis of this order.
Mr. Chennithala saw red in the government’s action and alleged that Mr. Vijayan, who had made tall claims that the State will not budge an inch on the NPR, was trying be a “gentleman before Prime Minister Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah by quietly permitting it”.
