Owaisi leads Muslims' delegation, urges TRS govt to stay NPR in Telangana
Hyderabad, Dec 25: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi along with representatives of a body of Muslim organisations in Telangana met Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Wednesday and requested him to stay the work on updation of National Population Register (NPR) on the lines of Kerala.
Emerging from the meet, Owaisi described it as "positive" and said they informed Rao NPR was the first step toward National Register of Citizens (NRC). The latter was 'sympathetic' toward their cause and sought two days time to inform the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi's stand, he said.
The Hyderabad Lok Sabha member, accompanied by representatives of city-based United Muslim Action Committee in the meeting, said NPR was the first step toward National Register of Citizens (NRC) and there was a necessity for all like-minded parties to come together on the issue.
NPR is the first step towards NRC. We have informed the Chief Minister about it. We urged him to stay implementation of National Population Register (NPR) on the lines of Kerala government. We gave the order copy of Kerala," he told reporters here.
Amid the protests over the NRC and Citizenship Amendment Act, the CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala on Friday said it has ordered a stay on all activities in connection with the NPR, scheduled early next year in the state, considering 'apprehensions' of public that it would lead to NRC.
Kerala is the second state after West Bengal to have ordered a stay on NPR activities in the wake of the protests over CAA and the contentious NRC.
The Centre on Tuesday approved nearly Rs 12,700 crore for carrying out the Census 2021 and the NPR and made it clear that NPR has no relation with the NRC.
Owaisi said the Chief Minister told them he would hold talks with like-minded political parties on the NPR issue and if needed organise a public meeting.
"It was a positive meeting. The Chief Minister repeatedly stressed that this issue was not concerned with Muslims alone and it concerns the entire country, he said.
He claimed KCR, as Rao is popularly known, asked him to invite leaders of all political parties to the MIM's proposed public meeting in Nizamabad on Friday on the issue.
We will also invite the Congress, CPM and CPI. TRS will participate. This is an issue to save the country, Owaisi quoted KCR as having said.
The AIMIM chief said he was hopeful of a positive decision from KCR, who according to him, sough two days time to inform the partys stand on NPR.
Showing some documents, the MP said according to the government websites, NPR is the first step towards undertaking the proposed NRC.
He also claimed that according to an Right to Information Act (RTI) query, only 29 per cent of the population in Telangana had birth certificate.
Owaisi had on Friday said when a nationwide NRC was done, every Indian would be in trouble (to prove their nationality).
Not even five per cent of the people in India have passports, he had said.
Addressing a protest meeting against NPR, NRC and CAA at Mahabubnagar late on Tuesday night, he alleged Prime Minister Modi and Home MinisterAmit Shah were not telling the truth with regard to NRC and detention centres to house suspected illegal immigrants.
Referring to Modi's speech in Ramlila ground in Delhi that there was no discussion on NRC, he said the President in his address in Parliament after the NDA government was formed had said NRC would be brought.
"It is Union Government that prepares the speech of the President. It was read out in parliament. Was it wrong? he asked.
Modi himself had said in an interview to an English TV channel that NRC would be conducted, he claimed.
Owaisi also said while Prime Minister said no detention centres had been built, a detention centre has come up in Karnataka and a huge such facility was being built in Assam.
Indian Prime Minister, we were not expecting this from you, he said.
In 2014, the then Union Minister of state for Home Kiren Rijiju had said in reply to a query that NPR is a register of all the usual residents which includes citizens and non- citizen as well. (He) replied in parliament, NPR is a first step towards creation of NRC, the MIM leader said.
Owaisi claimed a low-level official would seek additional documents, during NPR work, after writing remarks as doubtful citizen though documents have already been submitted.
On death of 18 people in violence during protests against CAA in Uttar Pradesh, he said there should be an independent judicial inquiry to bring out the truth.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
BJP using women's quota bill as front to pass Delimitation Bill that will break India: Mamata
Cooch Behar (WB) (PTI): Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday alleged the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre was using the proposed amendment to the women's quota law in Parliament as a front for the Delimitation Bill that would "break the country into pieces".
The TMC will fight this Central government's move at every step, she asserted at her party's poll rally here.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill to tweak the women's quota law, along with the Delimitation Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, to implement the proposed amended women's quota law, in the Union territories of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir, were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
According to the Constitution amendment bill, Lok Sabha seats will be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats will also be increased in state and Union territory assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
Opposing the Centre's move, Banerjee alleged that "the BJP brought the Delimitation Bill while keeping the women's reservation bill at the front".
"The BJP is trying to increase the number of seats in the Lok Sabha to nearly 850 through the Delimitation Bill. It will break the country into pieces," the TMC supremo said.
She also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not speaking the truth about the development of north Bengal at a BJP rally last week.
"The prime minister said nothing was done for the development of north Bengal. But we spent Rs 1.72 lakh crore on the development of the region," Banerjee said and asked Modi to cross-check data before making such remarks.
