New Delhi: The BJP’s NDA partner Janata Dal (United) has decided to step up its protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, deciding on Sunday to vote against it in the Rajya Sabha.
The party will also send a delegation to the Northeast to meet civil society bodies on January 28 and 29.
The Bill, which seeks to provide citizenship to undocumented non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan who have faced ‘religious persecution’ was passed in the Lok Sabha on January 8. Protests have broken out in several parts of the Northeast opposing the Bill and the BJP’s ally, Asom Gana Parishad, walked out of the alliance in protest.
A four member delegation, comprising leaders vice-president Prashant Kishor, secretary general K.C. Tyagi, Afaque Ahmad Khan and N.S.N. Lotha, will visit the Northeast. Ahmad Khan told the Economic Times that the party has reiterated its stand against the Bill. “In Rajya Sabha, the party will vote against the Bill,” he said.
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The delegation would meet civil society bodies and organisations to take stock of the situation. “We are clear the Bill is communal and we will oppose the same,” he said.
Last year, a delegation from the All Assam Students Union (AASU) met JD(U) head and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to seek his assistance in opposing the Bill. The JD(U) has one MLA in the Nagaland and is part of the NDA’s ruling coalition in the state.
Reports have also said that state government employees in Assam have decided to join the stir against the Bill. Under the banner ‘Sadou Asom Karamchari Parishad (SAKP), the employees plan to hold a three hour sit-in demonstration across the state on January 30.