New Delhi: The Janata Dal (United), which is an ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, voted in favor of the amendments in the Lok Sabha on Monday and in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
However, Janata Dal (United) national vice president and ace election strategist Prashant Kishor has expressed disappointment with the party’s decision since the bill excludes Muslims from the ambit of the law. He took to Twitter to accuse the party leadership of betraying the trust of voters.
“We are told that CAB is a 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,” Kishor took to Twitter to accuse the party leadership of betraying the trust of voters.
Kishor added a hashtag ‘#NotGivingUp’ with his tweet which apparently means he will continue opposing the law.
“While supporting CAB, the JDU leadership should spare a moment for all those who reposed their faith and trust in it in 2015. We must not forget that but for the victory of 2015, the party and its managers wouldn’t have been left with much to cut any deal with anyone,” Kishor said.
The Janata Dal (United)’s decision to support the amendments has sparked a rift in the party. Former MP and the party’s National General Secretary Pavan Varma on Tuesday urged party chief Nitish Kumar to reconsider support for the amendments.
“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 of it,” he tweeted on Tuesday.
“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,” Kishor tweeted.
The amended law grants citizenship to persecuted Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Parsis and Christians from the Muslim-majority nations of Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, provided they have resided in India for six years. The cut-off date is December 31, 2014.
The Bill smoothly passed the test by both Houses of Parliament. It now needs to be signed by the President Ram Nath Kovind. If he gives his assent to the bill, it will amend the Citizenship Act, 1955.