Hyderabad: Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President and Nalgonda MP Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy has urged Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to stay all activities related to National Population Register (NPR) in the State by issue a GO on the lines of Kerala Government.
“While we welcome a resolution by the Telangana Assembly against NPR, NRC and CAA, this alone may not suffice to stop the NPR work in Telangana State. To clear any ambiguity in the State Government officials, a clear G.O. should be passed by the Government of Telangana as has been done in some other states.
I am attaching G.O. (MS) No. 247/2019/GAD dated 20.12.2019 of the Government of Kerala. Paragraph 2 and 3 of this G.O. read as: “Considering that the apprehensions among the general public about the conduct of National Population Register (NPR) related activities leads to National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the %wake of Citizenship Amendment Act-2019, the State Government orders to stay all the activities connected with the updation of National Population Register in the State forthwith,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said in an open letter to the Chief Minister on Sunday.
The TPCC Chief said that the Congress Party was in full support of the resolution to be passed by the Government of Telangana against NPR, NRC and CAA.
“NPR is the first step to implementing a nation-wide NRC. Data from the NPR is going to be used to instil fear of the ‘undocumented and illegal immigrant’ and justify initiating the process of conducting NRC.
The problem is not necessarily with the NPR itself but the blatantly communal intentions of the BJP Government that is implementing it. Information, by itself, is value free but when it is mobilised to serve an agenda it can be a dangerous weapon- and we are all aware of what the Modi-Shah Government’s agenda is.
We believe that it is important that the Government of Telangana take a documented and definitive stand against any steps taken by the Central Government to communalise public discourse and polarise Indian citizens against each other. In light of this, we believe that the resolution passed by the Government of Telangana, while a step in the right direction, is not an adequate response to the threat of communalisation,”
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that other states, like Kerala, have issued Government orders to stay all activities related to the NPR. “It is my sincere request to you that the Government of Telangana do the same.
Apart from being more effective than the resolution, this will send a strong message that the State of Telangana, which is home to an extremely diverse population, stands firmly opposed to the communal agenda of the BJP led Central Government,” he said.
“As someone who has fought and risked his life for a free and diverse India, I strongly believe that it is the need of the hour that we stand against those forces which are trying to divide the country, encourage hatred towards our friends and neighbours and destroy the principle of diversity on which our great nation was founded,” he added.
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