JDU friction still on; Pawan Verma laments his CAB warning to Nitish Kumar going in vain

Though Janata Dal United (JDU) has supported Citizenship Amendment Bill in Parliament, however, the divided stand of the party regarding the contentious bill has become more evident with the party's general secretary Pavan Verma revealing that he had cautioned party chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar Yadav against supporting the Bill but his appeal went in vain and he is still waiting for a response from the Chief Minister over the former's word of caution.

"I have made a direct appeal to Nitish Kumar, giving him reasons why JDU will contravene its own party principle and its commitment to the unity and harmony of India if it supports the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill," said Pavan Verma.

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Poll strategist and Party leader Prashant Kishor is slated to meet Bihar Chief Minister, purportedly regarding Kishor's own stance over Citizenship Amendment Act. Another JDU leader and MLC Gulam Rasool Balyawi who had participated in anti CAB protest on December 13 has got a call from the chief minister's office.

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About the Citizenship Amendment Act

After being passed in both houses of Parliament, the Citizenship Amendment Bill was signed by President Ram Nath Kovind making it a law. The Citizenship Amendment Act grants Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Through this act, Indian citizenship can be sought by the members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from the three countries to India till December 31, 2014, to put an end to them being treated as illegal immigrants in the country. The Bill had been passed by the Lok Sabha earlier this year but lapsed with the term of the previous Lok Sabha during the first term of the PM Narendra Modi government in the Centre. The bill was again passed in the winter session of Lok Sabha with a roaring majority of 311 votes in favour while 80 against the Bill, and in Rajya Sabha with 125 in favour of the bill out of the 245 member Rajya Sabha.

(With ANi inputs)

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