Citizenship Act and NRC: Amid internal pressure, decision day for Nitish Kumar and JD(U)

On Saturday, JD(U) vice president and poll strategist Prashant Kishor held a closed-door meeting with Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar. The meeting came in the aftermath of Kishor's public criticism of his party's support to the new citizenship law. The JD(U) voted in favour of the bill in the Lok Sabha as well in the Rajya Sabha. The law allows for granting citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan, while the NRC exercise would compile the names of all genuine Indian citizens. On Wednesday, Kishor had tweeted the legislation "could turn into a lethal combo" (with NRC) to systematically discriminate and even prosecute people based on religion. Kishor and Kumar discussed the contentious legislation in an hour-long meeting. 

With the Citizenship Bill passed, the BJP has its sights on a country-wide NRC. Home Minister Amit Shah said: "The process of National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be carried out across the country. No one irrespective of their religion should be worried. It is just a process to get everyone under the NRC". 

Emerging from the chief minister's residence after the meeting, Kishor stuck to his stand. He told mediapersons outside the CM house that Nitish Kumar is not in favour of the National Register of Citizens (NRC). “Nitish ji has said earlier also that he is not in favour of the NRC. But what is the stance of JD(U) on the NRC now, Nitish Ji himself will tell you," he said, reported Times of India. JD(U) national spokesperson K.C. Tyagi told The Indian Express that the party’s official stand of saying no to NRC had crystallised after the CM’s meeting with Kishor. “The entire party is solidly behind party chief Nitish Kumar for saying no to NRC. We had earlier said as much, but our support to CAB would have created confusion,” he said, reported the publication.

So, what stand will the JD(U) adopt on the issue? The decision day for Nitish is closing in, with concerns being raised from several quarters of the party against the decision to support the Citizenship Act. General Secretary and national spokesperson Pavan Varma tweeted: "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 JD(U). Gandhiji would have strongly disapproved it."

JD(U) MLA Mujahid Alam, who represents Kochadhaman assembly segment of Muslim-dominated Kishanganj district, told PTI they were "under tremendous pressure from voters who have misgivings about CAB".

"People like myself and Ghulam Rasool Balyawi (MLC) and even non-Muslim MLAs and MLCs who have reservations about the legislation are planning to jointly seek an appointment with the chief minister and apprise him of our anxieties", Alam said. Notably, Balyawi had on Wednesday shot off a letter urging Kumar to do a rethink and not support the bill in the Rajya Sabha where the BJP did not have a majority.

Meanwhile, protesters torched about five trains, three railway stations and tracks, and at least 25 buses on Saturday amid spiralling violence in West Bengal during the agitation against the amended Citizenship Act, while an oil tanker driver was killed in Assam's Sonitpur district. Suspension of Internet services across Assam was extended for 48 hours till December 16 though curfew was relaxed in Dibrugarh and Guwahati and also parts of Meghalaya, while a six-hour shutdown was observed in Nagaland. The UGC National Eligibility Test for candidates scheduled to appear in Assam and Meghalaya was postponed.

In West Bengal, protestors mostly targeted railway properties with Murshidabad, Malda and Howrah districts bearing the brunt of their ire. Official sources said public property worth crores of rupees have either been destroyed or looted. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has resolutely opposed the Citizenship Amendment Bill, appealed for peace, while the opposition BJP threatened to seek imposition of President's Rule if the "mayhem by Bangladeshi Muslim infiltrators continued." The protests affected movement of trains in South Eastern Railways and in Howrah and Sealdah sections. According to a railway official, 78 trains, including 28 express trains, were cancelled by the South Eastern Railway, while around 39 trains were either rescheduled or diverted.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma, his cabinet colleagues and Assembly Speaker Metbah Lyngdoh on Friday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah to air the demand for extending the ILP—which would effectively neutralise the Citizenship Act—in Meghalaya. "Thank you Hon'ble Home Minister @Amitshah ji for hearing us and assuring to resolve our concerns," Sangma tweeted. An official of the CMO said Amit Shah was "very receptive" to all the issued raised by Sangma and his colleagues and assured to examine the matter at the earliest.