Jharkhand House passes resolution against NRC, seeks NPR in 2010 format

The Jharkhand Assembly on Monday passed a resolution against the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.

The resolution also said the National Population Register (NPR) exercise should be carried out using the 2010 format.

Jharkhand joins the list of the assemblies of states including Puducherry, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar, West Bengal, Telangana and Delhi in passing resolutions either against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) or the NRC or the NPR.

The resolution was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Alamgir Alam and passed by the House without discussion before it was adjourned sine die in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

In a statement, BJP state unit president Deepak Prakash termed the passing of the resolution in the House without a discussion as unfortunate.

The country is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the state is under lockdown. Passing the resolution under such a circumstance without a discussion is unfortunate, Prakash said.

Claiming that both the NPR and the NRC are matters pertaining to the central government, he alleged that the aim of the resolution was "political appeasement.

The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance came to power in Jharkhand late last year, dethroning the BJP.