Janata Dal (United) vice president and political strategist Prashant Kishor said that it is only Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who could tell what circumstances led to the party supporting the Citizen (Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Kishor has been vocal about his opposition to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) despite JD(U) supporting the passage of the law. He met Nitish Kumar to discuss the issue earlier this month.
Terming the CAA as "discriminatory", Kishore said, "JD(U) opposed the Bill at every level. I want to make it very clear that JD(U)'s stance on NRC and CAA is of opposition. Check parliamentary standing committee's record, first dissent note is of JD(U). About JD(U) support during vote (in) which it has supported in both houses, under what circumstance and how JD(U) supported the Bill in both houses only Nitish Kumar ji can tell."
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"We believe CAA as an act is discriminatory as it is not horrible, if not linked with NRC. When you link CAA with NRC it becomes discriminatory not only on the basis of religion but also on the basis of class," he added.
Kishore said that NRC should not happen at all. Party chief Kumar has also ruled out possibility of holding the NRC exercise in Bihar.
"When NRC happens, crores of people, especially the poor if they could not produce required documents, they will face hardship to prove that they and their forefathers are citizens of this country, they will face a loss of income and logistical challenges. This will be a big problem for the poor. So, NRC should not happen at all and this has been JD-U's stance. Nitish Kumar ji has said that there will be no NRC," Kishor said.
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Kishor had earlier said that the citizenship law and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) project together could turn into a "lethal combo".
Kishor also tweeted two ways to resist the CAA. Firstly, he asked people to " keep protesting peacefully by raising your voice on all platforms". Secondly, he said, "Ensure most if not all of the 16 Non BJP CMs say NO to NRC in their states".
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Bhagel are among the non-BJP chief ministers who have opposed the Citizenship Amendment Act.
(With inputs from ANI)
