New Delhi, February 1: In a bid to allay apprehensions of NDA partners regarding new questions introduced in the 2020 National Population Register (NPR) form, the Modi government has reportedly decided to add a disclaimer on questions seeking details of the date and place of birth of an individual’s parents. During a meeting of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured Bharatiya Janata Party's allies that their issues will be addressed. Why Citizenship Amendment Act+NRC Raise Fear And Concerns: A Multi-Dimensional Take.

According to a report by TOI, leaders of Janata Dal (United), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and Shrimoni Akali Dal (SAD) raised objections to some new fields introduced in the NPR questionnaire. Question No. 13 (II) of the NPR form seeks information on the date and place of birth of an individual’s parents. In his response, Amit Shah told them that it may not be possible to remove the column at this stage, but a disclaimer that providing date and place of birth of parents will be optional could be inserted.

The new NPR questionnaire is expected to have a disclaimer that not replying to questions relating to date and place of birth of parents will not impact the respondents' citizenship status or put them in the "doubtful" list. At the meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked NDA partners not to be defensive about the Citizenship Amendment Act and assured that no Indian Muslim will face any difficulty due to the legislation. He urged BJP's allies to strongly support the CAA in Parliament.

"The PM assured all that every citizen from minority communities, including Muslims, have as much rights as he has. He said the Constitution is supreme and there is no room for discrimination among citizens," Union Minister and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan was quoted by TOI as saying. Earlier this month, during a meeting of state secretaries, Opposition-ruled states sought to know why the NPR form seeks details of the date and place of birth of an individual’s parents.

The government has maintained that information is voluntary and if the respondent does not want to give such information, he/she can refuse to give it. At least, three states - West Bengal, Kerala and Rajasthan - have put the NPR process on hold. As mandated by the central government, under the NPR, a census will be conducted from house to house across the country from April 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020.

Many say the newly-introduced questions in the NPR form will lay the foundation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) which was carried out in Assam to identify infiltrators. Many suspects that the Modi government wants to target Muslims through the NRC as it has brought the CAA which gives Indian citizenship to immigrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh but not if they are Muslims. While non-Muslims left out of the NRC would be able to get citizenship under the CAA, Muslims who could not make the list may be deported.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 01, 2020 08:38 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).