Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan takes a stand against NRC

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that the state government is opposed to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and added that the YSRCP government will not support the move it in the state.

The CM made the statements in Kadapa, where he was present to lay the foundation stone of the steel plant. He was joined by Deputy Chief Minister SB Amzath Basha who previously assured the people of Andhra Pradesh that the NRC would not be implemented in the state. The Chief Minister added that Andhra Pradesh is home to many minorities, and for their benefit, the NRC will not be implemented in the state.

The National Register of Citizens (NRC) was implemented earlier this year in the state of Assam to identify illegal immigrants entering India through the state. The exercise, however, proved to be an expensive affair with the implementation cost reportedly accounting to Rs. 1220 crore.

Critics of the NRC have stated that in the midst of an economic slowdown, it is not feasible for the government to undertake the financially taxing exercise. Further, there have been protests across India against the Citizenship Amendment Act in combination with the National Register of Citizens.

Various Chief Ministers and leaders including West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan, Punjab’s Amarinder Singh, Madhya Pradesh’s Kamal Nath, Chhattisgarh’s Bhupesh Baghel and Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal have publicly spoken against that the Citizenship Amendment Act. The YSRCP leaders though had supported the NDA government in passing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Parliament.