NPR dangerous game, a precursor to NRC: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata Jan 20: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday appealed to her counterparts in the northeast and non-BJP states to take a note of the "clauses" mentioned in the NPR form, before participating in the exercise to update the register.

Dubbing the NPR exercise as "a dangerous game", Banerjee said the form, which seeks birth details of parents, could be nothing but a precursor to NRC implementation.

"I will appeal to all chief ministers, governments including those in BJP-ruled northeast states -- Tripura, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal -- and the opposition party-ruled states to read the law properly and consider the clauses in the NPR form before arriving at a decision.

"I request them not to participate in this matter because the condition is very bad," the chief minister said.

The TMC boss asserted that the West Bengal Assembly would soon pass a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

Mamata also said that she came to know from the news media that fields which seek birth details of parents in the NPR form were not mandatory.

"If the fields are not mandatory, why are they a part of the form? Efforts should be made to remove those questions. "If they continue to exist on paper (form), those that do not enter birth details of parents might be automatically excluded. There is an apprehension..." she claimed, before leaving for Siliguri.

The CM is scheduled to lead anti-citizenship law rallies in north Bengal over the next four days.