Stop NPR process or will act, warns KSU

***KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa addressing a news conference after submitting a memorandum to home minister Roshan Warjri on Monday***

SHILLONG, NOV 2: The Khasi Students Union (KSU) Monday demanded that the state government respect the decision to put on hold the National Population Register (NPR) till an effective mechanism to check influx is in place.

The KSU threatened that if the situation demands it will have to deploy its members to ensure that the process is stop, as was assured in the meetings held with the government two years ago.

“We demand the state government to respect its own decision and not to go ahead with the process of registration of the population through the biometric enrollment,” KSU general secretary Auguster Jyrwa told reporters after submitting a memorandum to home minister Roshan Warjri on Monday.

The demand came after the reported move of the state government to restart the process of registration, which will ultimately result in the issuance of the Aadhar or the Unique Identity Number.

Recalling the meetings held with the government in 2013, Jyrwa, however, said, “Chief minister Mukul Sangma had assured us that the government will put on hold the proposed NPR until the government introduces a mechanism to check the unabated influx of migrants.”

According to him, during the meeting held on July 19, 2013 Sangma had assured to make suitable amendments in the guidelines of the NPR to ensure that the demography of the indigenous communities of the state is not affected.

“However, recently the union has come to learn from reliable sources that the government has resume the registration of population in certain parts of the state thereby making a mockery of the resolution adopted during the last meeting,” Jyrwa said.

When asked, the general secretary informed that the enrollment process has been taking place in areas under West Khasi Hills District and East Khasi Hills District of the state.

“For some time, we thought that it is just awareness on the NPR but surprising it was beyond that where taking of photographs and registering of names is also taking place,” he alleged.

He warned that if the government fails to respond to their demand, the union will have no other options but to send its members to stop such process.- By Our Reporter