India does not need NPR, CAA, says open letter by over 100 former civil servants

Citing grave reservations about constitutional validity of CAA, as many as 106 retired bureaucrats on Thursday wrote an open letter to people saying both NPR and NRIC were "unnecessary and wasteful exercises", which will cause hardships to public.

former bureaucrats, including former Lieutenant Goverr of Delhi Najeeb Jung, n Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah urged fellow citizens to insist Union government to repeal relevant sections of Citizenship Act, 1955, pertaining to issue of national identity cards.

"We have our grave reservations about Constitutional validity of CAA provisions, which we also consider to be morally indefensible. We would like to emphasise that a statute that consciously excludes Muslim religion from its purview is bound to give rise to apprehensions in what is a very large segment of India's population," said letter, titled "India does t need CAA-NPR-NRIC".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at a public meeting in Delhi on December 22 that Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) are t linked contricts averments of his home minister (Amit Shah) on repeated occasions in various fora, it said.

"At a time when ecomic situation in country warrants closest attention of government, India can ill afford a situation where citizenry and government enter into confrontation on ros," said letter.

"r is it desirable to have a situation where majority of State Governments are t inclined to implement NPR/NRIC, leing to an impasse in centre-state relations, so crucial in a federal set up like India," it ded.

Above all, it said, "We see a situation developing where India is in danger of losing international goodwill and alienating its immediate neighbours, with verse consequences for security set-up in sub-continent".

retired bureaucrats said re was need for National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC).

"Our group of former civil servants, with many years of service in public sphere, is firmly of view that both NPR and NRIC are unnecessary and wasteful exercises, which will cause hardship to public at large and will also entail public expenditure that is better spent on schemes benefiting poor and disvantd sections of society," letter said.

y also constitute an invasion of citizens' right to privacy, since a lot of information, including Ahaar, mobile numbers and voter IDs will be listed in a document, with scope for misuse, it said.

"We are apprehensive that vast powers to include or exclude a person from Local Register of Indian Citizens that is going to be vested in bureaucracy at a fairly junior level has scope to be employed in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner, subject to local pressures and to meet specific political objectives, t to mention unbridled scope for large-scale corruption," said letter.

former civil servants said that worrying reports are alrey coming in of people in different parts of India rushing in panic to obtain necessary birth documents.

" problem is magnified in a country where maintenance of birth records is poor, coupled with highly inefficient birth registration systems," y said.

provisions of CAA, coupled with rar aggressive statements over last few years from highest levels of this government, have rightly caused deep unease among country's Muslims, who have alrey faced discrimination and attacks on issues ranging from allegations of 'love jih' to cattle smuggling and beef consumption, letter said.

"That Muslim community has h to face brunt of police action in recent days only in those states where local police is controlled by party in power at centre only ds credence to widespre feeling that NPR-NRIC exercise could be used for selective targeting of specific communities and individuals," it said.

former bureaucrats asked people to urge government to withdraw Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order, 2019 and withdraw all instructions for construction of detention camps, besides repealing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, according to letter.

y also questioned widespre setting up of Foreigners' Tribunals and detention camps under Foreigners (Tribunals) Amendment Order, 2019.

"While central government may contend that re is such intention, it was surely impolitic, given prevailing atmosphere in Assam and elsewhere, to issue such blanket orders delegating powers for constituting Foreigners' Tribunals. experience with Foreigners' Tribunals in Assam has been, to put it bluntly, traumatic for those at receiving end," letter said.

It said, after running gamut of garing documents and answering objections to ir citizenship claims, "doubtful citizens" have also h to contend with se tribunals, composition and functioning of which were highly discretionary and arbitrary.

"Consequently, a number of citizens lost ir lives in quest for affirming citizenship or have h to suffer indignity of incarceration in detention camps," letter said.