Government failed in removing confusion over CAA: LJP

With protest over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) growing, chinks appeared on Friday in the ruling NDA with its ally LJP which said that the government has "failed" in removing the confusion among a significant section of the population over implications involved in the implementation of the law.

It reminded the government that it had asked for holding a through discussion with the coalition partners before bringing the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in Parliament.

LJP chief Chirag Paswan released a letter in public domain, which he had written to the BJP chief Amit Shah and copied to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 6 requesting a thorough discussion with allies on the Bill.

“Dissatisfaction among people over the law continues even as it has been passed by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The way protests are continuing against the CAB and the NRC (National Register of Citizens), it is clear that the government has failed in removing confusion over a significant section of the population over the law,” Paswan said in a series of tweets.

Paswan appealed to the Union government to hold talks with those protesting against the law to allay their concerns.

He assured people that his party will take care of "the concerns of the Muslims, Dalits" and those deprived over the NRC.

“The LJP will not support passage of any Bill in Parliament which goes against the interest of the people,” he asserted, saying that his party discussed the prevailing situation in the country at a meeting on Thursday and apprised the Home Ministry of it.

Paswan, requesting Shah for a meeting of the NDA allies on December 6, had noted that it was necessary to listen to “the concerns and suggestions” of the coalition partners, as the NDA was a coalition of "diverse ideologies" and a discussion would bring all of them together "on such a serious issue".