On Friday, March 13, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) introduced in the Delhi Assembly as resolution against the National Population Register (NPR). The resolution was moved amidst concerns of burden of documentary evidence, especially among the economically weak and uneducated, as well as fears of persecuted minorities and oppressed classes.
MLA Atishi Marlena addressed the assembly saying, “There is widespread fear about the NPR. This is because 80-90 percent of the people in the country do not have the documents required for it. In fact, I think 50 percent of the people in this assembly today might not have their own birth certificates. Even if they do, their parents are unlikely to have birth certificates. This is because, even today, many people are not born in hospitals.”
She went on to highlight instances of how various senior central government ministers such as Prakash Jawadekar and even Amit Shah have tried to allegedly obfuscate facts about the NPR and its connection with the census and eventually the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Our ministers are trying to bring in the NPR through a backdoor in a bid to actually lay the groundwork for NRC. We condemn this and demand that this process be stopped, not just in Delhi, but across India.”
MLA Raghav Chadha raised another concern about the implementation of the NPR process that is scheduled to begin from April 1, 2020. “At a time when we are considering postponing the IPL, and shutting down movie theaters, why can’t we see the threat the Corona virus poses to people where NPR officials will be going door to door to collect data for the NPR. Even if one person is infected, he could spread infection to so many different people,” said Chadha. He also highlighted how the previous NPR had asked for 13 data points as opposed to the new one where 21 data points are required.
After a series of speakers including Dilip Pandey and Jarnail Singh raised a variety of concerns, Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assemby Vijendra Gupta tried to allay fears by quoting from Amit Shah’s Thursday speech in the Lok Sabha. But when arguments ensued, the proceedings of the house were temporarily suspended.