Muslim delegation urge CM KCR to oppose NPR in Telangana

A delegation of United Muslim Action Committee led by AIMIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday called on Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao and discussed the issues pertaining to National Population Register (NPR), Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). They requested him to oppose implementation of NPR in the State as it was the first step towards the NRC.

After the three-hour-long meeting at Pragathi Bhavan, Asaduddin Owaisi said TRS had opposed CAA in Parliament and Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao understands the Centre’s intentions to implement NRC. “AIMIM is an ally of TRS and we have complete faith in the Chief Minister that he will take the right decision. He promised to consult all political parties on the issue and is likely to make a statement soon in this regard,” he said. He stated that the Chief Minister was of the view that the entire nation should know about implementation of NRC under the guise of NPR across the country.

The AIMIM president said less than 29 per cent population in Telangana State had birth certificates and chaos will prevail when NRC is implemented as it requires birth certificates of one’s



parents to prove their citizenship. “A lower rank officer can classify anyone in the country as doubtful citizens and there is no parameter to decide a doubtful citizen,” he pointed out. He reiterated that implementation of NPR, NRC and CAA was not just about Muslims in the country, but will impact the entire nation as people of all faiths will be required to stand in queues to prove their citizenship.

The Hyderabad MP alleged that Union Home Minister Amit Shah was misleading people to believe that CAA, NRC and NPR were not linked, but the issue was otherwise. He stated that there were numerous instances, pointing to the real intentions of the Central government for implementing them. He pointed out that the annual report of Union Ministry of Home Affairs for year 2018-19 clearly states that NPR was the first step towards creation of NRC. “Though NPR was implemented in the country earlier, people were never required to prove their Indian citizenship. BJP is wrongly blaming the Congress, to mislead people,” he stated.

Owaisi was accompanied by several religious leaders and social activists, among others, during the meeting with the Chief Minister.