To implement NRC across the country, the centre is hell-bent to begin the NPR process from April 1. CPI(M) general secretary, Sitaram Yechury called upon the people not to answer the questions raised by the enumerators during the NPR process. He also asked them to conduct a door to door house campaign in this regard urging the people to defy the NPR. Sitaram Yechury was speaking at a massive public meeting at Madurai on February 16 evening organised by CPI(M), Madurai district committee.

While speaking at the meeting, Yechury explained in detail about the innermost connection between the National People Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), which invariably is linked to the recently passed CAA. He also reminded the people that in various platforms including the parliament, the prime minister, Narendra Modi and home minister, Amit Shah are trying to spread lies that the government is not going to implement the NRC and it is only undertaking the NPR as a prelude to Census 2021. Sitaram Yechury cautioned the people that the real intention of the Modi government is to collect data for NPR to finally prepare NRC which in turn will pave the way to implement CAA across the country.

The process of a census is being taken up every ten years in the country and the next census is due in 2021. This will be undertaken now to collect data from the people. Along with the usual questionnaire for the census, the central government is sending a separate form to the enumerators to elicit answers from the public. This new form contains many questions; such as the date and place of birth of parents and availability of documents thereon. The reality is, the majority of the people will not be able to provide such details. Citing himself as an example, Yechury said that though he was born in a government hospital in Chennai in 1952, there was no system of issuing birth certificates to the children. As such he has no birth certificate. Now they are asking for birth certificates of his parents, which will be nigh impossible to produce. The details of the date of birth are available in the passport, but if they(enumerators) demand documentary proof of the birth, it is impossible for him as well to obtain it, Yechury remarked.

Similarly, except those who have some immovable properties, most of the people in the country are in the habit of moving from one place to another for education, employment etc. How can the government expect that such people will keep their records meticulously, asked Yechury? In such a situation, people have no other option except to refuse to answer such ludicrous questions. Yechury further elaborated that after this process, the designated NPR officials will scrutinise the answers given by the people. If they found that some answers are not satisfactory or the relevant documents are not available, such persons will be marked as 'doubtful persons' and they will be pressurised to submit suitable documents. Those who are unable to produce such documents will be declared as 'non-citizens'. This is what happened in Assam a few months back. Out of 19 lakh people declared as 'non-citizens' more than 12 lakh are Hindus. This is what is going to be applied across India through this NPR process.

As such the CPI(M) is firmly against taking up the NPR process. Like the LDF government in Kerala, many other state governments have also announced that they will not undertake this process to divide the people. Though the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu supported this divisive move of the centre, the CPI(M) has appealed the state government not to take up this process in Tamil Nadu. To educate the general public on this vital issue, Yechury reminded the resolution passed by the recently held Central Committee of the CPI(M) to undertake a door to door campaign and exhort the people to refuse to answer all the questions not relevant to the census. As the NPR, the process will begin from April 1 this year, Yechury called upon the party cadres to take up this campaign earnestly and complete it on March 23. He reminded the people that this day happened to be the day of martyrdom of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, who raised the slogan of 'Inquilab Zindabad' while going to gallows. The slogan they raised on the verge of their martyrdom was on the dream of creating a ‘socialist India’, reminded Yechury. Hence, let us dedicate ourselves to undertake the journey towards a socialist India and simultaneously safeguard the secular, democratic Republic of India.

On February 16, Sitaram Yechury also addressed a massive public meeting at Hosur, Tamil Nadu situated on the border of Karnataka organised by the Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri district committees of CPI(M). In that meeting, Yechury called upon the people to refuse to answer unrelated questions from the NPR enumerators and exhorted the party cadres to undertake the door to door campaign among the people on this issue.