Patna: Poll strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor fired a fresh salvo Wednesday at the BJP daring Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ‘go ahead and try implementing’ the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register for Citizens (NRC) which the latter had ‘audaciously announced to the nation’.
Kishor, who is the national vice-president of the JD(U), is helping Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the upcoming Assembly polls. He is doing so even though his own party headed by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has tied up with the BJP to take on the less than a decade old party.
“Being dismissive of citizens dissent couldn’t be the sign of strength of any Govt. @amitshah Ji, if you don’t care for those protesting against #CAA_NRC, why don’t you go ahead and try implementing the CAA & NRC in the chronology that you so audaciously announced to the nation!” (sic), Kishor wrote on his twitter handle.
The 42-year-old, whose first claim to fame was his handling of Narendra Modi’s spectacularly successful election campaign in 2014, made the remarks in the backdrop of Shah’s assertion Tuesday at a pro-CAA rally in Lucknow that ‘CAA is here to stay and it will not be taken back’, despite country-wide protests by opposition parties and others notwithstanding.
The Bihar BJP was, expectedly, rankled by the latest outbursts of Kishor, who joined the JD(U) about two years ago, got elevated to the top party post within weeks, and has been taking a public stand on the burning issue that has embarrassed the NDA.
“There is no move on #NRC by the Govt but #CAA is now a legislation made by Parliament. Respect the Constitution. Don’t worry. The Supreme Court has agreed to listen to the voice of dissent. Just to satisfy the professional ego and political frustration why creating hue and cry,” Bihar BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said replying to Kishor’s tweet.
The JD(U) did not react to Kishor’s comment. Party leaders are refraining from saying anything on the poll strategist-politician’s assertions in recent times.
PTI