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A day after Nitish Kumar’s JD( U) backed the citizenship ( amendment ) Bill 2019 in the Lok Sabha, the party it appears is in two minds before it is voted in the Rajya Sabha. Party General Secretary and former former diplomat Pavan K Varma invoking Mahatma Gandhi to call the legislation “unconstitutional”.
In a tweet Varma wrote, “I urge Shri Nitish Kumar to reconsider support to the #CAB in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and against the unity and harmony of the country, apart from being against the secular principles of the JD-U. Gandhiji would have strongly disapproved it”.
I urge Shri Nitish Kumar to reconsider support to the #CAB in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and against the unity and harmony of the country, apart from being against the secular principles of the JDU. Gandhiji would have strongly disapproved it.
— Pavan K. Varma (@PavanK_Varma) December 10, 2019
Speaking to NDTV, Varma said the bill was “unconstitutional, discriminatory and against national
interest” in the context of national unity.
He said the JD-U had “inner democracy” and that he has conveyed his views to Kumar “personally”.
Earlier, JD-U national vice-president Prashant Kishor voiced disappointment over his party supporting the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha, underlining that the legislation discriminates against people “on the basis of religion”.
In a late night tweet when the bill was put to vote and passed by the Lok Sabha with a resounding majority, Kishor sought to underscore that the bill was “incongruous with the constitution of the party, headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, which swore by 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,” the poll strategist-turned-politician tweeted.
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
