NPR exercise to begin in Bihar from May 15: Deputy CM Sushil Modi

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi on Saturday said that the National Population Register (NPR) exercise in the state will be carried out between May 15 and May 28. 

“The NPR process in 2020 will be carried out between April 1 and September 30 in the country. In Bihar, it will be done between May 15 and May 28. Administrative and punitive action will be taken against officials if they refuse to carry out NPR,” Modi said while addressing a press conference.

The minister further ruled out any connection between the NPR and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and said that no state can refuse to carry out the NPR exercise.

बिहार प्रदेश भाजपा कार्यालय, पटना में राष्ट्रीय जनसंख्या रजिस्टर (NPR)पर आयोजित प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस को संबोधित करते हुए। pic.twitter.com/RwTwzlxSeJ

— Sushil Kumar Modi (@SushilModi) January 4, 2020

The statement comes at a time when the governments of Kerala, Bengal, and Punjab have halted all the work related to NPR and maintained that they will not let the exercise happen in their respective states.

"No government has the courage to stop NPR exercise in their respective states," “There is a provision of fine and three years’ imprisonment for government officials who refuse duty related to Census work. Similarly, those who refuse their duty related to NPR, would face disciplinary action along with penalty of Rs 1000," Modi said.

Naming the chief minister of West Bengal and Kerala, he said, "No chief ministers, even if he/she is opposed to CAA and NPR, can refuse to implement them. Neither West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee nor Kerala CM P Vijayan can say that they won't implement NPR in their states. They can say anything for public consumption. But they can't say no to CAA and NPR... A census director in each state has already been appointed, including in West Bengal." 

Talking about the NRC, the minister said it would be wrong to talk about it as PM Narendra Modi has clearly stated that the government has not discussed it so far. "NPR and NRC are two different things," he added.

Sushil Modi stressed that the NPR data will help in formulating schemes to benefit people.