On Wednesday, Bihar’s Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, during his demonstrations ahead of the third and final phase of the assembly elections in the state, dismissed concerns from a section of society that some people could be deported outside the state. country in case the Center implements new citizenship laws. . He said those concerns are “quackery” from those who are trying to “divide” society.
“Who is spreading misinformation through that ‘phaalatoo baat’ (verbiage). Nobody has the courage to evict any citizen of the country, ”Kumar said while addressing public demonstrations in Kishanganj and Araria districts, which comprise a significant number of people from minority communities.
Amid nationwide protests earlier this year and in 2019 over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and a National Citizens Register (NRC) across India, the chief minister claimed that a nationwide implementation of the NRC was unnecessary and had no justification.
Earlier, as it peaked in Bihar’s legislature in January, Kumar said that the NRC was an exercise limited to Assam as part of the agreement signed by the Rajiv Gandhi government.
“A nationwide NRC would be unnecessary and has no justification. We don’t think something like this is going to happen. I think the Prime Minister has also spoken clearly about this, ”he said in January.
Meanwhile, indirectly targeting opposition parties during his rallies, Kumar said that some people want to promote the struggle between castes and religious groups, adding that his government has always worked for all sectors of society and promoted community harmony in Bihar. .
Bihar witnessed voting in 94 constituencies in 17 constituencies in the second phase on Tuesday. Data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) showed a voter turnout of more than 53%.
Voting for the third and final phase will take place on November 7 in 78 constituencies. The vote count and declaration of results for the three phases will be on November 10.
(With PTI inputs)
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