GUWAHATI, June 30 - Janata Dal (United) national secretary Sanjay Verma said in a press statement e-mailed from Patna that JD(U) president Nitish Kumar, who is also the Chief Minister of Bihar, has opposed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016.
India is a secular country and its citizenship cannot be determined on the basis of religion. If this Bill is passed, it will nullify the National Register of Citizens (NRC) updating process and will impede the cultural and linguistic identity of Assam and northeastern region�s indigenous peoples, said the JD(U) national secretary.
He added that since there is a general consensus, the JD(U) accepts the idea of granting citizenship to those who entered Assam prior to March 25, 1971, but it is opposed to the idea of legalizing the entry of migrants in Assam after that cutoff date.