Senior Janata Dal (United) leader Pavan K Varma on Tuesday said his decision on whether or not to remain with the JD(U) depended on the response of its president Nitish Kumar on how the party formed an alliance with the BJP amidst the massive national outrage against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
"Nitish Kumar hasn't clarified party's stand on NRC and CAA so far. He should clarify his stand on the issue. Whether I will remain with the party will be decided once Nitish replies to my letter," Varma told media here.
Stressing that BJP's ally Akali Dal has taken a stand over the ongoing contentious CAA and NRC and decided not to go with BJP in ensuing Delhi polls, he said: "When parties like Akali Dal which has been BJP's ally has taken a stand on the issue and are not coming with BJP in Delhi election then JDU should also clarify its stand."
In a letter to JDU chief Kumar, Varma said that he failed to understand how the party was extending its alliance beyond Bihar at a time when the BJP has "embarked on a massive socially divisive agenda" aimed at "mutilating the peace, harmony and stability" of the country.
"I fail to understand how the JD(U) is now extending its alliance with the BJP beyond Bihar, when even long-standing allies of the BJP, like the Akali Dal, have refused to do so," he said.
Varma appealed to the JD(U) chief that "as you have emphasized" politics must be about principles and the courage of conviction.
"I think there is an urgent need for the JD(U) to harmonize what the party's constitution says, what the leader of the party feels in private, and what actions the party takes in public," the letter added.
He said that Nitish has maintained that the BJP was "leading India into a dangerous space".
"It was your personal view, as conveyed to me, that the BJP is destroying institutions, and that there is a need for democratic and socialist forces within the country to regroup, a task for which you actually assigned a senior party official," Varma said.
According to reports, the BJP will allot two seats to the JD(U) and one to the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) in Delhi Assembly polls.
Taking to Twitter, Varma questioned the alliance in Delhi "given Nitish's views on the BJP".
So far, BJP has announced candidates for 67 seats in the run-up to elections for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.
( With inputs from ANI )