Kerala blocks NPR implementation after Union Budget allocation
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Thiruvananthapuram: Days after the Union Budget earmarked Rs 6,000 crore for Census 2027 and National Population Register (NPR), the CPI(M)-led Kerala government issued an order suspending all NPR activities in the state, effective since December 20, 2019.
The February 5 extraordinary gazette notification reaffirmed: “All activities connected with the updation of National Population Register in the State stand suspended with effect from 20 December, 2019.” This aligns with Kerala’s 2019 directive halting NPR and Census procedures amid Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) rollout concerns.
Chief Minister’s Office clarified Kerala’s firm policy: “NPR will not be implemented in Kerala at any cost.” With Census 2027 looming, rumours of bundled NPR prompted the reaffirmation to counter potential National Register of Citizens (NRC) linked to CAA, which Kerala views as targeting minorities.
Kerala pioneered anti-CAA Assembly resolutions and challenged its constitutionality in the Supreme Court, maintaining its “unequivocal stand” against NPR.