Prashant Kishor digs in his heels, makes it clear he won't give up CAB stance
Isolated within his own party after opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, JD(U) national vice-president Prashant Kishor on Thursday(December 12) dug in his heels, asserting that the legislation could help the government “systematically discriminate and even prosecute” people on the basis of religion.
In a fresh tweet that he ended tellingly with the hashtag “NotGivingUp”, Kishor sought to dismiss the contention that the Bill aimed “to grant citizenship and not to take it from
anyone”.
We are told that #CAB is bill to grant citizenship and not to take it from anyone. But the truth is together with #NRC, it could turn into a lethal combo in the hands of Government to systematically discriminate and even prosecute people based on religion.#NotGivingUp
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 12, 2019
JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought to defend its support to the Bill in both Houses of the Parliament on the basis of this assertion despite misgivings that it might adversely affect Muslims.
Kishor’s anti-CAB comments had no takers within the party. JD(U) national general secretary Pavan K Varma, who had voiced disagreement on supporting CAB after the party voted in favour of it in the Lok Sabha, urging Kumar to “reconsider” the stand in the Rajya Sabha, has since not made any new comment on the issue.
Also read: Cracks widen in JD(U)-BJP ties as Nitish goes after Sangh in Bihar
Bihar minister Sanjay Jha, a close aide of the CM, and state JD(U) president and Rajya Sabha MP Vashishth Narayan Singh backed the party stand and discarded dissents as
“personal opinions.”
Since Monday(December 9), when the Bill was tabled in Parliament by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Kishor has been taking to Twitter to express his disappointment with the party’s decision to back the legislation holding that it was against the party’s commitment to secularism and Gandhian ideals.
Disappointed to see JDU supporting #CAB that discriminates right of citizenship on the basis of religion.
It's incongruous with the party's constitution that carries the word secular thrice on the very first page and the leadership that is supposedly guided by Gandhian ideals.
— Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 9, 2019
On Wednesday(December 11), when crucial support of the JD(U)’s six MPs helped BJP getting the bill passed in the Rajya Sabha, Kishor reminded the party of its victory in the 2015 assembly polls which it had fought in alliance with Lalu Prasad’s RJD and Congress and Kumar had vowed to make a “Sangh-mukt Bharat”.
Also read: Citizenship Bill forces JD(U), Sena to speak in two voices
Meanwhile, JD(U) spokesman and state minister Neeraj Kumar came out with a bristling riposte to Kishor, whom he did not mention by name.
“Nitish is secular in thought and deed and his persona is spotless like a mirror. Be under no illusions, voting statistics speak volumes about his popularity. The votes garnered by JD (U) rose to 89.02 lakh in the Lok Sabha polls this year, up from the 64.17 lakh tally of 2015. It was a jump of 39 per cent. Kindly update your knowledge,” Neeraj Kumar tweeted.
नीतीश जी विचार व कर्म से धर्मनिरपेक्ष हैं,दर्पण की तरह साफ
भ्रम न पालें,वोट के गणित को देखें
नीतीश जी का नेतृत्व जनादेश से स्पष्ट है
गौर करें 2015 विधानसभा चुनाव(64.17लाख) की तुलना में 2019 लोकसभा चुनाव (89.02लाख) में जद यू के वोटों में 39%(24.85लाख)का हुआ इजाफा।ज्ञानवर्द्धन करें— Neeraj kumar (@neerajkumarmlc) December 12, 2019
After extending his service to Jagan Mohan Reddy of the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh, Kishor is now working for Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, which is bitterly opposed to the BJP, thereby often causing strains in the saffron party’s relationship with the JD(U).
