Prashant Kishor thinks the government's recent comments on the issue of a pan-India NRC are "a pause and not the full stop".

Prashant Kishor says the government's assertion that there's been no discussion on a pan-India NRC -- a citizenship verification drive -- is "nothing but a tactical retreat" in the face of countrywide protests.

"It is a pause and not the full stop," the senior JD(U) leader tweeted on Thursday.

The claim of NRC is nothing but a tactical retreat in the face of nationwide protest against #CAA_NRC. It is a pause and not the full stop.



Govt could wait till SC judgement on CAA. A favourable court order and the whole process will be back. Prashant Kishor (@PrashantKishor) December 26, 2019

Prashant Kishor is the vice-president of the Janata Dal (United), a key NDA ally that governs Bihar in coalition with the BJP. He's been an outspoken critic of the amended Citizenship Act, whose approval by Parliament sparked protests that soon spread across India.

He has also described the idea of a nationwide NRC as the "demonetisation" of citizenship -- "Invalid till you prove otherwise."

Protesters fear that the Citizenship Amendment Act will shield non-Muslim illegal immigrants identified by a pan-India NRC, and make a large number of Muslims stateless.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram has said that the net effect of the new citizenship law and the NRC would be the exclusion of Muslims, and described the two policies as "Siamese twins".

Home Minister Amit Shah initially said the NRC -- which left out nearly 2 million people from a final list for Assam -- would be implemented nationwide. But in a recent interview with ANI, he agreed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks that there had been no discussion on a pan-India NRC.

'A FAVOURBLE COURT ORDER, AND...'

The Citizenship Amendment Act has been challenged in the Supreme Court. As many as 59 pleas challenge the validity of the new law on various grounds -- including that it violates the concept of secularism and the right to equality under the Constitution.

In his tweet, Prashant Kishor warned that the government could change tack if the court's decision went its way.

"A favourable court order and the whole process will be back," he said.