Soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that the National Register of Citizens and National Population Register are a tax on the poor, the BJP has launched into criticisms. Its leaders and spokespersons have alleged that Rahul is trying to paint the NRC as anti-poor because the party's rhetoric on the burning issue hasn't gained traction with the public.

Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "This is what happens when you try taxing your brain beyond its actual capacity." BJP spokie Sambit Patra tweeted out, "Oh ..so the narrative has now shifted from “Anti-Muslim” to “Tax on Poor”. This is why I say that as far as Rahul Gandhi is concerned it’s “Know Nothing, Comment on Everything". Amit Malviya, yet another BJP spokie, commented that the CAA/NPR will actually help poor the most.

On his party, Rahul today waded into a controversy related to "detention centres" in Assam. "I have tweeted a video where Narendra Modi is saying that there are no detention centres in India. In the same video, there are visuals of a detention centre. So you decide who is lying," the Wayanad MP said.