Odisha's ruling BJD will object in Parliament to the provision seeking information about birthplace of parents of individuals for updating the NPR and also demand mention of caste of the people belonging to OBCs in the 2021 census, a party leader said on Tuesday.
These decisions were taken at the BJD parliamentary party meeting, chaired by its president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
"We are opposed to the clause 13(2) of the National Population Register (NPR) format, 2020 that seeks details about birthplace of parents of individuals, though the Centre has said it is optional," Pinaki Mishra, the BJD's Leader of Parliament in Lok Sabha, told reporters here.
Though the party had supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, it opposed to the National Register of Citizens, Mishra said.
He said the BJD MPs will also demand "enumeration of the people belonging to Other Backward Classes (OBCs) along with SCs and STs in the 2021 census".
"We need the know the number of people belonging to OBCs in the state in order to provide targeted benefit to them," he said.
During the meeting held at Naveen Niwas here, BJD MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha finalised the party's agenda for the ensuing budget session, starting from January 31.
Claiming that the BJD was committed to fight for the interest of Odisha people in Parliament, Mishra said: "We have been directed by the party president to raise the issues such as share of the clean energy cess, coal royalty revision and timely payment of the GST compensation to the state."
Responding to a query on the proposed formation of a legislative council in the state, the BJD leader said, "Odisha Assembly has passed a resolution in this regard."