A recalcitrant JD(U) national vice president Prashant Kishor on Wednesday stuck to his guns, stating that the party- headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar- should have spared "a moment for all those who reposed their faith and trust in it" during the assembly polls in the state four years ago.
Kishor, also took a dig at Kumar for his turnaround of 2017 when he dumped the Grand Alliance and returned to the NDA, with the remark that the party "and its managers would not have been left with much to cut any deal with anyone" had it not won the assembly polls two years earlier.
JD(U) had fought 2015 Bihar polls in alliance with the Congress and the RJD.
"While supporting #CAB, the JD(U) leadership should spare a moment for all those who reposed their faith and trust in it in 2015. We must not forget that but for the victory of 2015, the party and its managers wouldnt have been left with much to cut any deal with anyone", Kishor tweeted.
The poll strategist-turned-politicians latest outbursts came barely a few hours after Kumars close aide and state minister Sanjay Jha had dismissed contrary opinions expressed by Kishor and national general secretary Pavan Varma as "personal opinions".
Rajya Sabha member and president of the JD(U)s Bihar unit Vashishth Narayan Singh also said in the national capital that once the party had made its stand clear, leaders should have refrained from "making public their personal views".
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There is no fresh comment from JD(U) national general secretary Pavan K Varma, who also voiced disagreement on supporting CAB, and had urged Kumar to "reconsider" the stand when the legislation is debated in the Rajya Sabha.
Earlier, on Monday while the Bill was being put to vote in the Lok Sabha where it was passed by an overwhelming majority with all the 16 JD(U) MPs voting in support, Kishor had expressed disappointment with his partys decision to back the legislation.
He had said it was "incongruous with the partys constitution that carries the word secular thrice on the very first page and the leadership that is supposedly guided by Gandhian ideals".
Notably, Kishors association with the Bihar Chief Minister began ahead of the 2015 Lok Sabha polls when he had rendered his services as a professional political strategist.
The assembly elections was won handsomely by the Grand Alliance comprising JD(U), RJD and Congress. It was widely believed that the victory owed itself in a significant measure to en bloc voting in favor of the alliance by Muslims, whom the Bill allegedly discriminates against.
Kumar, upon his return to power for the third consecutive term, rewarded Kishor by appointing him as an adviser with cabinet minister rank.
The poll strategist thereafter got engaged in the poll campaign of the Congress in states like Punjab where it won