Kamal Nath to take call on NPR after reviewing it

Bhopal: Amid mounting pressure from a powerful faction in ruling Congress to reject National Population Register (NPR), which is scheduled to begin on April 1, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath on Tuesday sought to play safe indicating that he would take the call on it after reviewing the whole issue.

Talking to reporters here, Nath said, “We will examine the issue. We have no plan to implement it now”.

The Chief Minister has sought to play safe on NPR even as he had earlier categorically said that the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would not be implemented in MP under Congress regime.

Opposition BJP on Tuesday slammed the Chief Minister for showing reluctance to implement NPR, saying, “The Chief Minister is succumbing to pressure by a section in Congress to dump NPR”

“The Chief Minister is not hesitating to take anti-constitutional step (by declaring not to implement NPR) to save his minority government”, BJP spokesman here Deepak Vijayvargiya said.

Earlier, Congress MLA Arif Masood threatened to quit party if the NPR would be implemented in the state.

“What is the use of remaining in Congress if NPR will be implemented in MP where there is a Congress government,” he told reporters here.

Sources said a powerful factional leader in Congress in MP was behind Masood’s move to force the Chief Minister not to execute NPR in the state.

The Kamal Nath government which has strength of 114 in 230-member state Assembly, one less than majority mark, survives by support from two Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs, one Samajwadi Party (SP) legislator and 5 Independents.

BJP has strength of 109 in the House.