NEW DELHI: BJP ally Nitish Kumar becomes the tenth Chief Minister who categorically refused to implement the contentious National Register of Citizens or National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state.
With Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United)) ruling the Bihar in coalition with the BJP has openly said that NRC won’t be implemented in a state, the dissent reaches every second parliamentary constituencies in the country.
Dissent brewing among BJP’s coalition partners
No NRC in Bihar-JD(U)
The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) was passed with the crucial support of BJP’s partner JD(U) that swing the whole deal in BJP’s favour.
However, Bihar is the latest entrant in the list of states that have declared that the NRC exercise will not take place within their borders.
The remark comes a day after the CM assured the minorities in his state that no wrong will be done to them.
AGP, BJD, Akali Dal
As the protest against the CAA and NRC intensified, opposing voices have started coming even from within the NDA and its coalition partners.
Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which is a key ally of the BJP has turned against the amended Citizenship Act.
Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik changed its stand and made it clear that his party ( 7 MPs in both houses) will not support the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
BJP’s ally in Punjab the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (3 MPs) has welcomed the Act but has demanded that Muslims too be included.
Voted ‘under pressure’– AIADMK
With 11 AIADMK MPs in the House, the party voted in favour of the controversial Bill despite the exclusion of Lankan Tamils.
After the students from Tamil Nadu hit the streets across the state, AIADMK Rajya Sabha MP in an interview to The Hindu claimed that the party was “under pressure to vote for the Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament”.
U-turn by Shiv Sena
After voting in favour of the bill in Lok Sabha, Shiv Sena took a u-turn and staged a walkout during the voting for the amendments to Citizenship Amendment Bill 2019 in the Rajya Sabha.
Party chief Uddhav Thackeray became CM of Maharashtra with the coalition of Congress and Sharad Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both of whom voted against the bill and protesting against the amended Citizenship Act
Criticizing the former ally BJP over CAA, Shiv Sena said that the party before deciding on its implementation in Maharashtra wanted to await the outcome of petitions filed in the Supreme Court.
Fiercest critic-Mamata Banerjee
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Centre’s fiercest critic over both the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens vowed not to allow its implementation in the state.
Agitating over the past few weeks, the Trinamool Congress supremo said, “Suddenly after 73 years of independence we have to prove that we are Indian citizens. Where was BJP’s head and tail at that time, BJP is dividing the country. Don’t stop your protest because we have to get CAA revoked.”
YSR Congress u-turn
Facing criticism from various quarters for backing Citizenship Amendment Bill in the Parliament, Andhra Pradesh’s ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) said it would not support the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Ten days after YSRCP, which has 22 members in Lok Sabha and two in Rajya Sabha, had voted in favour of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB), the Deputy Chief Minister SB Amzath Basha quoted Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy as saying that the party would oppose any Bill that is detrimental to the interests of the Muslim community.
LDF and UDF jointly protest
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the rival Congress-led UDF jointly protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
The ruling CPM-led Left had voted against the bill in both houses.
Vijayan has reiterated his stand that the CAA will not be accepted and under no circumstances would it be allowed to be implemented in the state.
The new citizenship law cleared by the two Houses of Parliament, and signed by the President, is now known as the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.
Except for Muslims, the Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Parsi communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.
Rajasthan says ‘no’ to CAA
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot reiterated that Citizenship Amendment Act is impractical and hence cannot be implemented in the state.
He demanded the repeal of this Act.