BJP ally JD(U) to join AGP rally in Guwahati to oppose Citizenship (Amendment) Bill

PATNA: The BJP’s ally JD(U) on Sunday decided to oppose the government’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, on the plea that the controversial legislation would threaten the cultural and linguistic identity of indigenous people of Assam.
In a resolution passed at the JD(U)’s national office-bearers’ meet held at the Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar’s official residence here, the party also decided to send a delegation of its national office-bearers to Guwahati to extend support to all those political parties and organisations that are opposing the Modi government’s Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.
Nitish, who is also the JD(U) national president, presided over the meeting held at 'Nek Samvad' hall of the CM residence.
As per the decision, the JD(U)’s national vice president Prashant Kishor, its national secretary general KC Tyagi and national secretary Sanjay Verma would reach Guwahati on January 26 to extend their support to the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and some other organisations who have been opposing the Bill.
"Different outfits opposing the Bill will hold a joint rally in Guwahati on January 27, while the AGP’s rally is scheduled to be held in Guwahati on January 28. We will join in both the rallies and extend the JD(U)’s support to all those organisations who are opposing the Bill," JD(U)’s national secretary and its in-charge for Meghalaya & Tripura states Sanjay Verma told TOI over phone.
In another resolution passed at the national office-bearers meet, the JD(U) decided to contest the coming Lok Sabha election from Lakshadweep seat outside Bihar. The JD(U) candidate P Pookunhi Koya had won the seat in the 2004 election defeating Congress veteran PM Sayeed.
It was also decided that the JD(U)’s national executive body meet will be held in Patna in the last week of February to discuss issues related to the Lok Sabha polls.
The party also constituted a three-member committee comprising its Bihar state president Bashishtha Narain Singh, state energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav and the water resources minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan Singh, to identify the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar from where the JD(U) will contest the coming parliamentary poll as per the seat sharing agreement with the BJP and the LJP.
"The three-member committee would also hold talks with the NDA allies on the issue of seat-sharing and seat identification in Bihar," Tyagi told TOI after the meeting.