The Vizag Shaheen Bagh Joint Action Committee (JAC) on Monday demanded that the State government must pass a resolution in the Assembly immediately against the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The JAC has been staging a dharna at the Mahatma Gandhi Statue near the GVMC administrative building. Speaking on the fourth day of their protest on Monday, JAC founder I.M. Ahmed said that 12 States in the country had already refused to implement the NRC. “It is time the Andhra Pradesh government made the move by passing a resolution in the Assembly,” he said.
Article 131
The JAC members also demanded that the State government should follow the Kerala government’s initiative of invoking the Article 131 of the Constitution.
“The Article 131 allows the Supreme Court with the power of original jurisdiction to act as a guardian, whenever there arises an issue or dispute between the Government of India and one or more States, two or more States. It gives the Supreme Court the authority to undertake such cases straight, instead of reviewing a lower court’s judgment. Article 131 can be invoked even if there is an anticipation of any law and order issue, while implementing the NRC,” Mr. Ahmed.
JAC convenor Akiya Parveen said that as per the order issued by the Home Ministry, the work for the National Population Register (NPR) is scheduled to begin from April 1, and the State government should take the necessary steps before it.
‘No clarity’
Describing the NPR as “the first step towards NRC”, she alleged that all the facts about it was not being revealed properly.
“The NPR and NRC have no clarity. It will grossly affect every communities, especially the minorities including Muslims, Christians and OBCs, Dalits, and those who are not well educated to understand the nuances of the move,” claimed Ms. Parveen. According to the JAC members it is difficult to get the documents such as date and place of birth of parents or any documents before 1971 that can establish a person as a citizen of India.
Moreover, fighting a case in the Foreign Tribunal, High Court or the Supreme Court for a common man will be difficult, said Mr. Ahmed.
“The Centre should issue clear guidelines and simply the process of NPR or NRC, so that people can easily register and enrol,” he said.
Later in the day, TDP MLA Vasupalli Ganesh also staged a dharna with the members of the minority communities in I Town area.
“The State government has not made its stand clear on the issue. It is time the YSRCP government cleared the air on its intention,” he said.
