Patna, December 19: Cracks within the Janata Dal (United) appeared to widen over the Citizenship Amendment Act as another senior leader revolted against Nitish Kumar. JD(U) general secretary Pavan Varma is likely to quit the party. Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act "exclusionist", Pavan Varma said that Nitish Kumar made a U-turn after assuring that the JD(U) would oppose the amendment. He added that the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens "are two sides of the same coin". Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act Protests Live News Updates.

Asked whether he is going to leave the JD(U), Varma told The Indian Express: "I will make a decision during the next few days. It has become difficult for me to stay in the party." According to him, during a meeting of JD(U) office bearers, Nitish Kumar had said that "it will not be proper for the JD(U)" to support it, "particularly, in the context of Assam and the North-East". However, he said, when he called up Nitish ahead of the vote on the legislation, he told him, "How can we not support it when even the AGP is backing it?" Citizenship Amendment Bill Debate: Manipur to be Exempted Via Inner Line Permit, Says Amit Shah; Here's How ILP Will Offset CAB Impact.

Another senior partyman, JDU vice-president, Prashant Kishor, too has spoken against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Kishor, after the JD(U) voted in favour of the legislation, said that the party had violated its own constitution. "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," he had tweeted.

Since then, Kishor has been voicing concerns over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens or NRC. On Thursday, he rejected the argument that the NRC has not been announced yet. "The argument that no nationwide #NRC has been ANNOUNCED is not convincing as it is not the SAME as clearly stating that there will be No #NRC," he tweeted.

The Citizenship Amendment Act provides Indian nationality to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains and Buddhists fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The legislation is criticised for leaving out Muslims. Nitish Kumar's JD(U) was among the parties that supported the legislation in Parliament.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2019 02:29 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).