'NPR first step towards NRC; Amit Shah misleading country': Asaduddin Owaisi

AIMIM chief and a member of parliament Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday said that the National Population Register (NPR) is the first step towards the National Register of Citizens (NRC). "They are doing NPR according to the Citizenship Act, 1955, then is it not connected to NRC? Why is the Home Minister misleading the country? He took my name in Parliament and said 'Owaisi Ji NRC will be implemented across the country'. Amit Shah Sahab, as long as the sun keeps rising from the east, we will keep telling the truth. NPR is the first step towards NRC. When NPR will be done in April 2020, officials will ask for documents. The final list will be NRC," Owaisi said.

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Home Minister takes a dig at Owaisi

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday had said that NPR is not connected to NRC. Taking a dig at Owaisi, the Home Minister had said, "I am not surprised by the stand taken by Owaisi Ji. If we say the sun rises from the east, then Owaisi Sahab would say it rises from the west. But I want to assure Owaisi Ji too that the NPR is completely different and has nothing to do with NRC."

READ | Amit Shah Dismisses Owaisi's Claim Of NRC-NPR Being Linked; Mocks Him For Comparison

Owaisi stressed that the Home Ministry had said that NPR was the first step towards the creation of the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) in its annual report 2018-19. "I agree that Amit Shah is more educated than me. He should read chapter 15 of the annual report of 2018-19 of his ministry. In point number 4, he himself is saying that NPR is the first step towards the creation of NRIC", Owaisi claimed.

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"On the MHA website, the ministry wrote on NPR that India is in the process of setting up NPR. This is the first step towards the creation of NRC. November 26, 2014, when Kiren Rijiju was minister, in a reply, he said NPR is the register of all usual residents which includes citizens and non-citizens as well. In another reply, he said NPR is the first step towards the creation of NRIC," Owaisi added

(With ANI inputs)

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