Govt to go by will of House on CAA, NRC, NPR: Cabinet

This was decided by the state council of ministers during an informal discussion after the cabinet meeting in Chandigarh on January 14

The Amarinder Singh-led Congress government will go by the will of the House on the way forward with respect to the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

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This was decided by the state council of ministers during an informal discussion after the cabinet meeting here on Tuesday. The ruling Congress is opposed to the amended citizenship law, NRC and NPR. Amarinder has also been critical of CAA and NRC, calling them divisive.

The ministers expressed serious concern over the implications of the blatantly unconstitutional and divisive CAA and NRC, as well as the NPR, according to an official spokesperson. They also expressed alarm over the violence that had erupted across the country over the issues, which threatened to rip apart the secular fabric of the nation.

The state cabinet was of the view that the matter was bound to be raised during the two-day special session of the state assembly on January 16-17, and it was unanimously decided by the Congress ministers, led by the CM, that the government should accept the will of the House and go by the same.

The cabinet agreed with the CM’s views that the CAA, especially when coupled with NRC and NPR, was violative of the Preamble of Constitution, which is the bedrock of the country’s foundation.

Advocate General Atul Nanda also presented the legal perspective on the matter before the ministers.