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Updated: Dec 24, 2019 11:11 IST

Janata Dal United leader Prashant Kishor, who led the opposition to the amended citizenship law and the proposed citizens’ register within his party, on Tuesday tweeted to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to thank him for joining the ‘satyagraha’ against the law at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial in national capital Delhi.

The former Congress chief had tweeted against the National Register of Citizens, or NRC, that his party insists would create divisions in the society. But Rahul Gandhi, 49, was abroad on an official visit when protests broke out in Delhi earlier this month.

Monday’s satyagraha organised by the Congress was his first appearance at a protest against the law. In his absence, sister and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had been the party’s face on the protests; she had even joined a protest at India Gate last week.

Also watch: Why Prashant Kishor says Rahul isn’t protesting loud enough on NRC

In a tweet, Prashant Kishor thanked Rahul Gandhi for “joining citizens’ movement” against the citizenship law and NRC and asked him to get all chief ministers of his party to declare that they will not implement the NRC.

“But as you know beyond public protests we also need states to say NO to #NRC to stop it. We hope you will impress upon the CP (Congress president) to OFFICIALLY announce that there will be #No_NRC in the #Congress ruled states,” Prashant Kishor, the 42-year-old JDU vice president who is also a political strategist, said.

It is an idea that Prashant Kishor had floated when his party led by Nitish Kumar supported the citizenship amendment law in parliament despite his appeals earlier this month.

But his tweet to Rahul Gandhi asking him to do more than just protesting triggered a sharp reaction. Many pointed out that the Congress chief ministers had already declared their decision not to implement the citizenship law or the citizens’ register.

Says the Vice President of the party that voted for the CAB. This is just hogwash PK... Itna hi concern tha to JDU could have opposed the passage of bill in RS. But no, you will give gyaan to INC. Coz INC ko sab gyaan dete hain. — Shahnawaz شاہ نواز (@shahnawazk) December 24, 2019

Others reminded Prashant Kishor about his party’s shifting stand on the citizenship law and the citizens’ register.

Prashant - Can we also have an OFFICIAL statement from JDU in Bihar. Let's practice what we preach. — Tauseef (@tauseefahmad9) December 24, 2019

Prashant Kishor responded to them, asking them to produce Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s statement declaring that there will be no NRC in Congress-ruled states.

Chief Ministers of at least 11 states - Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry, Odisha, West Bengal and Kerala - have since then declared that they will not implement NRC.

It is not clear if, and how they can block the citizenship register so far. The groundwork for the citizenship register will be laid down next year when census officials go around the country for the houselisting operations and also update the national population register. The citizenship register will be a subset of this population register and will include people who are able to produce the approved documentation that will be counted as proof.

Also read: ‘Urban Naxals, Congress lying on detention centres’: PM Modi defends CAA

For now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has insisted that his government had not discussed a word about the citizenship register. But there have been several statements from senior ministers in and outside parliament, declaring that the Centre would create the citizenship register and expel the infiltrators.