'Considering resolution against NRC, no issue with NPR', says Tamil Nadu CM Palaniswami

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Wednesday said his government is considering passing a resolution in the state Assembly against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and also revoking the cases filed against the anti-hydrocarbon project protestors.

Speaking to reporters in Tiruchirappalli district, Palaniswami said the matter of passing a resolution against NRC is under the government's consideration.

When opposition demanded a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, Palaniswami said his government would protect the interests of minorities.

Tamil Nadu is set to become the second state after Bihar to pass an anti-NRC resolution. The resolution against NRC was passed unanimously in the Bihar Assembly on Tuesday. 

READ | Bihar Assembly Unanimously Passes Resolution To Not Implement NRC

"No issue with NPR"

The Chief Minister also said the Centre has made introduced information like parents’ place of birth in the National Population Register (NPR), and therefore “there is no issue” with NPR.

He recalled the NPR was “brought” in 2003 during the BJP-led NDA rule while it was implemented across the country by the Congress in 2010, pointing out that the DMK was a constituent in both coalitions. The then DMK government had in 2011 implemented NPR across Tamil Nadu, he said.

“Now the Centre has included three additional aspects — language, parents’ place of birth, and (furnishing) of documents like Aadhaar, ration card and Voter ID...now the Centre has made these optional, and that there are not compulsory. So, there is no issue in NPR,” Palaniswami said.

READ | Palaniswamy Hints At Declaration Of Cauvery Delta As Protected Zone, Says 'good News' Soon  

Bihar passes resolution against NRC

The Bihar assembly on Tuesday, February 25, passed a resolution to not implement the NRC in the state. The assembly also passed a resolution to implement the National Population Register (NPR) in its 2010 form, with an amendment.

Earlier, reiterating that the "additional clauses" in the NPR forms will create confusion, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar read his letter written to the Centre, which urged the state government to drop them.

READ | Puducherry Assembly Passes Resolution Against CAA, Despite Obligation From LG Kiran Bedi

Replying to a debate on an adjournment motion moved by Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and others in the Bihar assembly, Kumar told the assembly that there should be "no confusion" regarding how the NPR exercise would be carried out in the state and that nobody would be asked to furnish information like places of birth of parents.

READ | Owaisi Declares 'Won't Show Documents' As Hyderabad Becomes First Anti-NPR Resolution City