Kanhaiya Kumar urges Bihar CM Nitish Kumar to get resolutions passed against CAA, NPR and NRC
Gopalganj/Siwan, Jan 31: CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday urged Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to lend his weight to the country-wide protests against CAA, NPR and NRC by getting a resolution passed against these in the state legislature.
The former JNU student leader also raised the demand at rallies he addressed in Gopalganj and Siwan districts.
He covered these districts on the second day of his Jan Gan Man Yatra under which he is touring the state with the message 'Samvidhan bachao, Desh bachao' (save the Constitution, save the country).
"I want to make it clear that these rallies are not aimed at an electoral benefit nor are these being organised by any political party.
"I urge the chief minister of Bihar to support our cause and get resolutions passed to the effect in the state assembly. Precedents have been set by many other states," Kanhaiya Kumar said.
The Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) had supported the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Parliament.
However, the JD(U) chief, who runs his government in coalition with the BJP in Bihar, has been opposed to implementation of National Register of Citizens (NRC) beyond Assam and has expressed disapproval of the current National Population Register (NPR) forms containing problematic columns like places of birth of parents.
After a party meeting earlier this week, Nistish Kumar had told reporters that his MPs, in both the Houses of Parliament, would urge the Centre to drop these clauses from the NPR forms in view of apprehensions caused by these in people's minds.
Kanhaiya Kumar, who was thwarted from addressing his first scheduled rally in West Champaran on the previous day but was allowed to speak in the adjoining East Champaran hours later, faced stiff opposition from supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha in Gopalganj where his posters were blackened.
The agitators were chased away by police clearing the way for the 32-year-old to deliver his address, during which he took a veiled dig at the BJP youth wing activists.
It is good to chant Vande Mataram. But I would like to tell my friends, the love for the country also entails the love for all its people. Do remember patriotism is not about sycophancy of political masters. They will win elections, and pass over the mantle to their offspring while you all might end up chanting Vande Mataram all your life with no recognition," Kanhaiya Kumar said.
The Narendra Modi government has brought the "divisive measures of CAA and NPR to divert public attention from its failures, its inability to handle the economy, which is tottering at five per cent GDP growth rate, the PM's tall claims of a five trillion dollar economy notwithstanding,'' he said.
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Road crash in UP leaves 10 dead
Lakhimpur Kheri (UP) (PTI): Ten people were killed when a van collided head-on with a truck on the Sisaiya-Lakhimpur national highway on Monday, police said.
The van was going to Sisaiya from Lakhimpur when the accident took place between Unchgaon and Bharehta villages.
Circle Officer of Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh, said all nine passengers travelling in the van and the driver were killed.
District Magistrate of Lakhimpur Kheri Anjani Kumar Singh told reporters that the van collided with a truck coming from the opposite direction, leading to nine casualties on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries at the district hospital.
Circle Officer, Dhaurahra, Shamsher Bahadur Singh told PTI, "Efforts are on to establish the identity of other deceased persons."
The seven of the deceased have been identified as Jaideep Singh (25), Pawan (23), Sohan (21), Ram Goyal (42), Sahajram (35), Pappu (18), all residents of Bahraich district and Adnan Khan (15), a resident of Lakhimpur Kheri district, police said.
Condoling the loss of lives in the accident, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a post on X, said, "The loss of life in the unfortunate road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. My condolences are with the bereaved families."
"I have directed the local administration to provide prompt and adequate assistance to the injured and the victims. I pray to Lord Shri Ram to grant the departed souls a place at His divine feet and to bestow a speedy recovery upon the injured," Adityanath said on X.
Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak too condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"The loss of lives resulting from the road accident in Lakhimpur Kheri district is deeply tragic and heart-wrenching. My deepest condolences go out to the bereaved families," Maurya said.
