Hours After it was reported that the JD(U), BJP's ally in Bihar, was divided on the issue of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, Bihar JD(U) chief Bashistha Narain Singh said the party would vote in support of the Bill in Rajya Sabha.
“The JDU will vote for Citizenship Amendment Bill in Rajya Sabha,” Singh, party’s Rajya Sabha MP, said on Tuesday.
The controversial Bill sparked dissent within the Nitish Kumar-led party with general secretary Pavan Varma invoking Mahatma Gandhi to call the legislation "unconstitutional", a day after the party backed it in the Lok Sabha.
Varma's comments came a day after JD(U) national vice-president Prashant Kishor voiced disappointment over his party supporting the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) 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.
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".
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