Congress Leader P Chidambaram on Thursday, 26 December, said that the National Population Register (NPR) approved by the BJP government was different and dangerous in terms of the "text and context" of the data collection exercise in 2010.
He added that the BJP government has a “sinister agenda”, otherwise it should unconditionally state that it supports the NPR form and design of 2010 and does not intend to link it to the controversial NRC.
‘Emphasis on Residency Not Citizenship’
Chidambaram was responding to a video posted by the BJP's IT cell head, Amit Malviya, in which the former finance minister was allegedly "gloating at the launch of NPR" in 2010.
Chidambaram said he is happy that the BJP has released the video clip. “Please listen to the video. We were enumerating the "usual residents" of the country. The emphasis is on residency not citizenship,” he said.
The Congress leader said cases have been registered against 8,000 persons for anti-CAA protests in Chennai, 1,300 in Madurai and 1,200 in Aligarh, according to PTI.
"Long live the right to assemble peacefully guaranteed by the Constitution! Police believe that peaceful protests are more dangerous to law and order then rape, murder and lynching," he wrote on Twitter.
(With inputs from PTI)
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