Former Minister and Congress MLC S. Jaimala on Tuesday urged the State government to follow the nine other States in the country that have so far rejected the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR).
“Nine States have not agreed to NPR and NRC, and this includes Bihar where the BJP is in the ruling coalition with the JD(U). I urge the Karnataka government to have similar thoughts on the issue,” she said during a discussion on the Constitution in the Legislative Council. “Like in other States, Karnataka can remove questions in the questionnaire that allows the marking of doubtful persons. We should not go in the path of Assam NRC.”
Taking her own example, Ms. Jayamala said, “I do not have a birth certificate. Our family moved to Chikkamagaluru after being displaced from Panambur. When I went to school, my father wrote my date of birth on a piece of paper.” Citing another example, she said 33 irrigation projects had displaced hundreds of people. “Where will they bring birth certificates from?” she asked.
Ms. Jaimala also said discriminating against one out of seven religions does not augur well for the country. “After the 1857 war of independence and the JP movement, the country is witnessing s third most important movement [against CAA and NRC]. More than COVID-19, people are worried about NPR and NRC.”
