Janata Dal (United) leader Prashant Kishor has expressed disappointment over his party’s decision to support the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha. In a tweet late in the night, Kishor termed the legislation discriminatory on religious grounds. He said that the bill was incongruous with his party’s constitution.

“Disappointed to see JD(U) 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 party’s national vice-president tweeted.

The bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It was passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday midnight though it was vehemently opposed by the major opposition parties led by the Congress. Union Home Minister Amir Shah, however, rejected the opposition’s claims, saying the bill does not affect the Muslim community residing in the country. The legislation was passed after division of votes with 311 in its favour and 80 against it.

Kishor had last month also lashed out at the BJP when he sought to know CMs of how many of the “15 plus states with 55 per cent of population” (not belonging to the BJP) were consulted over National Register for Citizens. His remark was seen as a rebuttal to Home Minister Amit Shah’s remark in the Rajya Sabha that the NRC will be implemented across the country.


Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha, JD(U) leader Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh said his party was supporting the legislation since it was not against secularism. Notably, the Nitish Kumar’s party had till recently opposed the National Register for Citizens (NRC) and the CAB. The party held that the moves discriminated against the Muslim population and could trigger massive unrest in the Northeast.