Delhi Assembly Elections 2020: After CAA, Pavan Varma Speaks Against BJP-JDU Alliance, Seeks 'Ideological Clarity' From Nitish Kumar
After the BJP sealed the alliance with the JD(U) for the Delhi assembly elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party's general secretary Pavan Kumar Varma said that he was "deeply perplexed" by the development.
New Delhi, January 21: After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sealed the alliance with the Janata Dal (United) for the Delhi assembly elections, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's party's general secretary Pavan Kumar Varma said that he was "deeply perplexed" by the development. The BJP allotted two seats to the JD(U) in Delhi where polls will be held on February 8. Pavan Kumar Varma asked for "ideological clarity" from Nitish Kumar. NRC Will Not be Implemented in Bihar, Says CM Nitish Kumar.
"On more than one occasion, you have expressed your grave apprehensions about the BJP-RSS combine. If these are your real views, I fail to understand how the JDU is now extending its alliance with the BJP beyond Bihar, when even long-standing allies of the BJP, like the Akali Dal, have refused to do so," Pavan Varma said in the letter on Tuesday. He made the letter public and said he wants to know why the JD(U) joined hands with the BJP when there is "massive national outrage against the divisive CAA-NPR-NRC scheme". CAA Crisis in JDU: Party's Minority Cell Leader Quits Over Nitish Kumar's Stand on Citizenship Amendment Act.
Varma objected to the JD(U) voting for the Citizenship Amendment Act in Parliament and described the law as "exclusionist". In his letter, the JD(U) leader said that Nitish Kumar had told him in 2012 that Narendra Modi and his policies are inimical for the country. He also mentioned Kumar's call for an "RSS-mukt Bharat (RSS-free India)". The RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP.
Pavan Varma's Letter to Nitish Kumar:
"The cause for confusion arises from the fact that even after you changed tracks and aligned again with the BJP in 2017, your private apprehensions regarding the BJP did not change," Varma wrote. Besides Varma, JD(U) vice-president, Prashant Kishor, too, has spoken against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 21, 2020 02:03 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).