No problem with NPR, says Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Disagreements seem to abound within the three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi government with chief minister Uddhav Thackeray saying on Tuesday that he saw no problems with the implementation of the National Population Register (NPR) in the state, although the other alliance partners think otherwise. “CAA and NRC are different issues. NPR is different. No one has to worry if CAA gets implemented.

NRC is not there and will not be implemented in the state. NPR is like a census and I will go through the columns (questions) given in the form. I don’t think there would be any problem with it,” Uddhav Thackeray said while touring the Konkan region. He said the NPR was just like the census carried out every ten years. He is, however, opposing the NRC as it would impact adivasis, nomadic tribes, Hindus and Muslims who would not be able to give proper documents.

The Sena’s stand comes at a time when NCP chief Sharad Pawar admitted that there were differences between the three parties on NPR and CAA but assured that the three parties would iron out their differences. “He (Uddhav) has a view, he has a right... there won’t be 100% unanimity. We have spoken in Parliament on this issue (CAA and NPR). We (all three parties) will discuss the issues. In a coalition government, there will be some differences,” Pawar said.

Meanwhile, the Congress has been a silent spectator on the issue of NPR, CAA and NRC. State Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat, also the revenue minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government, said his party is “opposed to all the three –– CAA, NPR and NRC –– as it divides the people’. Sources in the Sena said the NPR exercise would happen but added that they would be looking at some of the questions to assure people that it was not targetting them.

BHIMA KOREGAON CASE
Regarding the Bhima Koregaon case, Uddhav Thackeray claimed that only the case pertaining to the activists who have been arrested on the grounds that they are 'urban naxals' has been handed over to the NIA. The other case pertaining to the riots that happened later is with the state police and would be investigated only by them.