Isolated within his own party after opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, JD(U) national vice-president Prashant Kishor on Thursday dug in his heels, asserting the legislation could help the government "systematically discriminate and even prosecute" people on the basis of religion.
In a fresh tweet that he ended tellingly with the hashtag "NotGivingUp", Kishor sought to dismiss the contention that the Bill aimed "to grant citizenship and not to take it from anyone".
JD(U) headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has sought to defend its support to the Bill in both Houses of the Parliament on the basis of this assertion despite misgivings that it might adversely affect Muslims.
"We are told that #CAB is bill to grant citizenship and not to take it from anyone. But the truth is, together with #NRC it could turn into a lethal combo in the hands of Government to systematically discriminate and even prosecute people based on religion. #NotGivingUp, tweeted the poll strategist-turned-politician.
Kishor's anti-CAB comments had no takers within the party.
JD(U) national general secretary Pavan K Varma, who had voiced disagreement on supporting CAB after the party voted in favour of it in the Lok Sabha, urging Kumar to "reconsider" the stand in the Rajya Sabha, has since not made any new comment on the issue.
Bihar minister Sanjay Jha, a close aide of the cm, and state JD(U) president and Rajya Sabha MP Vashishth Narayan Singh had backed the party stand and discarded dissents as "personal opinions."
Moreover, there have been speculations that by his surprising decision to support the Bill, Kumar has sought to return the favour to Shah also the BJP national president