New Delhi, February 8: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) drew flak on social media on Saturday for uploading a contentious post on Twitter along with a video of Muslim women voters. In the clip, the female electorate dressed in burqa and hijab, could be seen displaying their voter ID cards. The statement posted by the 'BJP Karnataka' handle allegedly fueled fears over the National Population of Register (NPR) updation exercise. In retaliation, a section of Twitterati accused the party of openly "spewing hatred".

The BJP derided the anti-CAA-NPR protesters with their "kaagaz nahi dikhaayenge (won't show the documents)" slogan. The party, in a message apparently directed at those opposing the NPR process, said the documents being showed in the clip must be preserved safely for the pre-census exercise. Rajinikanth Defends CAA And NPR, Says 'If It Affects Muslims, I Will Be The First Person To Stand Up With Them'

"Kaagaz Nahi Dikayenge Hum" ! ! ! Keep the documents safe, you will need to show them again during #NPR exercise. (sic)," said the tweet posed by the social media page of BJP Karnataka.

See BJP's Tweet on Muslim Women Below

Twitterati Hitback

'NPR = NRC'

'Openly Spewing Hatred'

'BJP Can't be Trusted'

The video, though appears to be of the voting underway today for the assembly elections in Delhi, could not be verified it was shot in the national capital. The caption accompanying the footage contradicts the government's claim on the NPR updation process.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, along with Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, have reiterated that the respondents of the NPR process would not be forced to submit their documents as proof while answering the government questionnaire. "They must only answer to the best of their knowledge," he said.

The NPR, though updated for the first first time under the UPA government in 2010, has drawn fears as the incumbent central government has rejigged the form of the pre-census exercise. The respondents would not be quizzed over the date and place of birth of their parents. Due to this change, the Opposition has called the NPR a "veiled form" of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) - the process to identify and exclude "illegal immigrants" from the citizenship list.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 08, 2020 05:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).