NE NEWS SERVICE
PATNA, FEB 26
Bihar on Tuesday became the first state with an NDA government to unanimously adopt a resolution to stick to the old National Population Register (NPR) pro forma, adopting only the transgender column from the new format recommended by the home ministry. The resolution, virtually a copy of CM Nitish Kumar’s response to the Centre’s letter seeking feedback on NPR, also states “the National Register of Citizens is not needed in Bihar”.
None of the BJP members present in the assembly — the party has 54 MLAs — opposed the resolution when Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary sought to know if it had the consent of the ruling and opposition benches. “For the smooth functioning of the House, it was essential for this resolution to be unanimously adopted,” Choudhary said.
Nitish clarified in the assembly that the Centre had sought feedback from all states on NPR, but he took the opportunity to also communicate his government’s stand on the NRC. “The Bihar government has communicated to the Centre that the NPR format should be the same as it was in 2010, and only the transgender column should be added to it. We have also communicated that the NRC is not needed in Bihar,” he said.
Earlier in the day, there was a commotion in the assembly after RJD functionary Tejashwi Prasad Yadav moved an adjournment notice on NPR and CPI-ML legislator Mehboob Alam a separate one on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, NPR and NRC. Some BJP and RJD members almost came to blows when Tejashwi dubbed CAA a “black law”.
Defending his party’s support to CAA in Parliament, Nitish cited previous statements of former PM Manmohan Singh and other Congress members demanding Indian citizenship for persecuted minorities from some neighbouring countries.
Tejashwi claimed that the state government moved the resolution on NPR and NRC under pressure from RJD, a statement that was immediately contested by JD(U)’s ally BJP.
State BJP vice-president and Baikunthpur MLA Mithilesh Tiwari told TOI: “The PM has clarified that there has been no discussion on NRC. So, discussing NRC is like celebrating the ‘mundan’ of a baby before birth. Tejashwi should not feel elated as BJP never deviates from its principles. It is the party that has forced a country like Pakistan to kneel down.”
Many see the resolution as a Nitish masterstroke to blunt the RJD-led opposition and the likes of CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar, who is on a statewide yatra against the NRC.
