CAA-NPR-NRC 'Unnecessary and Wasteful Exercises": 106 Retired Bureaucrats in Open Letter

New Delhi, January 10, 2020:

As many as 106 retired bureaucrats have written an open letter to people stating that the National Population Register (NPR), Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) are not needed in the country.

They said these were “unnecessary and wasteful exercises,” which will cause sufferings to the general public. The retired bureaucrats have urged the public to insist the central government to repeal sections of the Citizenship Act, 1955, relating to the issue of national identity cards.

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Among the 106 bureaucrats, former lieutenant governor, Delhi Najeeb Jung, former Cabinet secretary KM Chandrasekhar and former Chief Information Commissioner Wajahat Habibullah were a few.

In the open letter, they stated that the bureaucrats had grave reservations about the constitutional validity of the CAA provisions. They consider the provisions morally indefensible. They have also mentioned about a statute that consciously excludes Muslim religion from its purview and therefore, they stated, “India does not need the CAA-NPR-NRIC.”

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It may be mentioned here that the CAA, NPR and NRIC have triggered massive protests across the country. Students, intellectuals, artistes and majority of the people from all walks of life have voiced out their concerns on the three citizenship exercises of India. They have been demanding the repealing of the CAA and withdrawal of the proposed NRIC.

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