BJP ally JD-U firm on its opposition to citizenship bill

GUWAHATI: BJP ally JD(U) on Saturday reiterated that it will oppose the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, when it is placed in the Parliament, arguing that the proposed legislation is detrimental to the identity of Assam in particular and the northeast in general.
JD(U) national general secretary Sanjay Verma told TOI that his party is firm on its stand against the bill and is in solidarity with all organisations in the state which are opposing the bill. “We will oppose the bill when it comes to the Parliament because we think the proposed legislation will do no good to the identity and culture of Assam as well as of the northeast. JD(U) also wants that March 24, 1971 should be maintained as the base year for detection and deportation of foreigners,” Verma said.

Verma said JD(U) may be an ally of BJP, but its opposition to the bill is firm. “This was our commitment to the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) delegation when they met Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar seeking support against the bill. The All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu) also met our CM on the issue. Our CM had committed his support to their opposition against the bill,” Verma said.

An eight-member AGP delegation, led by state agriculture minister Atul Bora, met Kumar, who is also JD(U) president, in September last year, while an Aasu delegation met the Bihar CM in May last year seeking JD(U)’s support to mount the movement against the bill at the national level.

AGP had threatened to come out of the alliance with BJP if the bill is passed by the Parliament. The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) on January 3 finalized its report on the bill amid protests from other Opposition members. The report is expected to be submitted in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing winter session.