Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s dissatisfaction in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Janata Dal-United claimed his first accident on Friday when the party’s minority cell general secretary Khwaja Shahid resigned from the party.
Shahid, who was the general secretary of the party’s minority cell, is the first leader to step out of the party under the amended citizenship law.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar feared that the new citizenship law would be used against the minorities and would even resign a few days after trying to be “guaranteed” that the minorities need to worry till then Not until he was around. Later he also indicated that he would not support the registration of citizens in Bihar.
The amended citizenship law allows the government to grant citizenship to minorities of six religions from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh.
Many critics of the law, including those from Nitish Kumar’s party, called the law “unconstitutional and discriminatory”. Poll strategist Prashant Kishore, who is also the JDU vice-president, earlier outlined how the National Register of Citizenship Law and the Citizen Register can turn into a deadly combo.
As soon as Khwaja Shahid exited the JDU, he too joined the chorus.
Nitish Kumar was his target.
“Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s decision was against the constitution of the party which supported secularism. Shahid, who hails from Katihar district, said, “I am surprised at his decision to support the Act.”
He also announced that he would exit after the resignation of several other active members of the party.
JDU leaders, including the party’s spokesperson, declined to comment on the development.
It is still not clear whether Khwaja Shahid’s exit is unilateral.
Prashant Kishore was the first to speak out against the law before voting for changes in the Rajya Sabha. But he soon got the support of party’s national spokesperson Pawan Verma and Legislative Council member Ghulam Rasool Balayavi.
Some JDU legislators from the Seemanchal region also voiced opposition to the party’s support of the Act. Kochadhaman JD-U MLA Mujahid Alam said in a public meeting, “For us, people are more important than the party and we will fight against the Drakean Act (CAA) and NRC.”
JDU MLA from Thakurganj Naushad Alam praised Nitish Kumar’s statement that NRC would not apply in Bihar, but underlined: “People here have started demanding a clear stance on the CAA from the Chief Minister.”
