JD(U) EXPELS KISHOR AND VARMA
PATNA : The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday expelled election strategist and national vice-president Prashant Kishor and national spokesperson Pavan Varma, a former MP, from the party’s primary membership with immediate effect.
PATNA: The Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday expelled election strategist and national vice-president, Prashant Kishor, and national spokesperson, Pavan Varma, a former MP, from the party’s primary membership with immediate effect.
The party’s decision was anticipated after Kishor and Varma took a public position against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The latter also questioned the party’s decision to contest the Delhi assembly elections along with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Kishor has been particularly vocal about CAA on Twitter; Varma wrote a letter to Nitish Kumar questioning the party’s decision to partner with the BJP in Delhi and released an image of the letter on Twitter.
He too has opposed CAA, which fast-tracks citizenship for non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who entered India before December 31, 2014.
Kumar lashed out at Varma last week, while responding to a query on the letter on the sidelines of an event. He said it did not merit a response and pointed to how the e-mail was sent and the contents released on social media promptly.
On Tuesday, his comment on tweets seemed aimed at Kishor.
“...We are ordinary people and do not believe in the politics of tweets. Anyone who wishes to remain in the party will have to adhere to its norms,” Kumar said after presiding over a meeting of party legislators and MPs.
The disciplinary action was taken under section 21 (sub-section 4a) of the party’s constitution. KC Tyagi, principal secretary of the JD(U) accused Kishor of using “derogatory terms” against Kumar.
The last straw seems to have been Kishor’s tweet on Tuesday, in response to buzz that Kumar inducted him into the JD(U) on the recommendation of Amit Shah, the Union home minister.
“...If you are telling the truth who would believe that you still have courage not to listen to someone recommended by @AmitShah,” he tweeted.
The tweet did not go down well with party. In response to his
KISHOR JOINED THE JD(U) IN SEPTEMBER 2018 AND WAS MADE THE PARTY VICE PRESIDENT. VARMA, A FORMER IFS OFFICER HAS LONG BEEN THE PARTY’S FACE IN DELHI.
expulsion, Kishor tweeted, “Thank you, Nitish Kumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you.”
“I congratulate Nitish Kumar for having removed from his path all obstacles and impediments in his pursuit of short- term political gains that are devoid of ideology,” Varma said after his expulsion.
Kishor joined the JD(U) in September 2018 and was made the party vice president. Varma, a former IFS officer has long been the party’s face in Delhi.
The BJP, JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party will contest the Bihar assembly election in an alliance, scheduled towards the end of the year. Kumar will be the CM face of the alliance, said BJP.
There are rumours that Kishor may join the Congress. “His exit may see some more exits from the JD (U),” said political analyst, DM Diwakar, of AN Sinha Institute for Social Sciences. “The JD(U) was compelled to take the action under pressure from the BJP and some of JD(U)’s senior leaders,” he said. JDU spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said the exit of the two leaders would have no impact as “they hardly had any mass following”.