'Give Your Address As 7 RCR': Arundhati Roy Urges People To Mislead Authorities Over NPR

Writer and activist Arundhati Roy on Wednesday claimed that the National Population Register (NPR) will serve as a database for NRC and asked people to oppose it, urging them to mislead the authorities and give wrong names in the NPR.

Addressing a protest gathering at Delhi University, she also claimed that the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was targeted against the Muslims of the country. She hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of "lying" on the NRC issue during a rally at Ramlila ground on Sunday. 

"Give wrong names in the NPR," Roy said.

"When the NPR authorities will come to your place for your details, fudge your name. We will decide on five names, such as Ranga Billa, Kung Fu kutta...give your address as 7, Race Course Road," Roy told the gathering.

She alleged that the NRC was targeted against the Muslims of the country.

She also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi while accusing him of "lying" on the matter of the NRC during a rally at Ramlila Ground on Sunday.

On Tuesday,  the government approved nearly Rs 12,700 crore for carrying out the Census 2021 and the National Population Register (NPR), and made it clear that NPR has no relation with the contentious National Register of Citizens amidst stiff opposition against the NRC.

However, home ministry officials said "at present there is no proposal to create the NRC in the country based on the NPR data".

The Union cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, cleared the proposal for conducting the Census 2021 at a cost of Rs 8,754.23 crore and updating the NPR at a cost of Rs 3,941.35 crore.

Briefing reporters, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar asserted that the NPR, to be carried out along with the first phase of the Census 2021 from April to September next year, has no relation with the NRC.

"There is no relation (of NPR) with the NRC (dur-dur tak NRC se koi sambhand nahi hain)," he said.