Union Min Piyush Goyal: 'PM Modi's word on NRC should be treated as the last word'

As the uproar over National Register of Citizens (NRC), National Population Register (NPR), and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) continues in the country, Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's word on the contentious NRC issue should be treated as the final say on the topic. 

"I think once the Prime Minister of the country says something, that is the last word. The Prime Minister has categorically clarified. There is no question of NRC, no discussion in the cabinet," Goyal told reporters in Goa when asked to comment on the statements made by Union Home Minister Amit Shah about implementing National Register of Citizens across India. 

Informing further about the development of the railways, the Railway Minister stated that the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) line would be electrified within the next 12 months. "In the next 12 to 15 months, the KRCL lines would be electrified so that there is no pollution created due to the trains in this region," he said.

READ | Piyush Goyal cites Gandhi to defend the amended Citizenship Act

PM Modi: 'No plans of conducting nationwide NRC'

Earlier in the month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while speaking at Ramlila Maidan, said that the Central government had no plans of conducting a nationwide NRC. "After I came to power in 2014, the government has held no discussions over NRC. We did carry out the NRC exercise in Assam, but it was at the orders of the Supreme Court," PM Narendra Modi had said.

READ | PM Modi sets the record straight over CAA, adds 'NRC was drafted by Congress'

PM Modi slams Congress over NRC 

During his rally at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on December 22, PM Modi had said that his government had never discussed the NRC and that it was introduced under Congress' regime.

In his statement, the PM said, "Congress has resorted to their old tactics to divide the country. Citizenship amendment law is not for Indian citizens. This has been said in the Parliament. False statements are not allowed inside the Parliament. Regarding NRC, they are spreading false rumors. NRC was made under Congress rule. Were the protestors sleeping then? We have not made NRC, it has not come to Parliament."

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(With inputs from ANI)