Kerala’s Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan criticises proposed Census 2027 questionnaire questions that seek details about parents’ religion and place of birth. He says any policy that links religion with citizenship is unacceptable and expresses concern about how the information could be used.
Both outlets report that Vijayan questions the purpose of the exercise and warns it should not become a “backdoor” for other databases, including the National Population Register (NPR) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The Hindu frames his statement as also highlighting what he describes as silence from the ruling UDF government in Kerala on the issue. Scroll.in focuses on his “deeply troubling” assessment and his concern about the questionnaire’s potential connection to citizenship-related registers.
Overall, the outlets agree that Vijayan’s criticism centres on the questionnaire’s inclusion of parents’ religion and birthplace details and the possible implications for citizenship-linked processes. They differ mainly in emphasis: one highlights criticism of Kerala’s ruling party’s response, while the other stresses fears of administrative use linked to NPR/NRC.
