New Delhi, January 29: Janata Dal (United) on Wednesday expelled Prashant Kishor and Pavan Kumar Varma after they attacked party president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Prashant Kishor, a political strategist-turned-politician, was Vice President of the JD(U). Pavan Kumar Varma, a former Indian Foreign Service officer, was the party's General Secretary. CAA Crisis in JDU: Party's Minority Cell Leader Quits Over Nitish Kumar's Stand on Citizenship Amendment Act.

Reacting to his removal from the JD(U), Kishor tweeted: "Thank you @NitishKumar. My best wishes to you to retain the chair of Chief Minister of Bihar. God bless you." The expulsions come a day after Kishor publicly slammed Nitish Kumar over his claim that he inducted Kishor into the party on the recommendation of then BJP President Amit Shah. "Nitish Kumar what a fall for you to lie about how and why you made me join JDU!! Poor attempt on your part to try and make my colour same as yours!" Kishor tweeted on Tuesday, removing any mention of the JD(U) from his Twitter bio.

Prashant Kishor's Tweet on His Expulsion From JD(U):

Kishor didn't stop at that. The poll manager went ahead: "And if you are telling the truth who would believe that you still have courage not to listen to someone recommended by Amit Shah?" Kishor criticised the JD(U) for voting in favour of the Citizenship Amendment Act. Similarly, Pavan Varma hit out at Kumar over the CAA, describing the amended citizenship law as "exclusionist". NRC Will Not be Implemented in Bihar, Says CM Nitish Kumar.

Varma also wrote a letter to Kumar, stating that he was "deeply perplexed" by JD(U)'s alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the Delhi assembly elections 2020. "On more than one occasion, you have expressed your grave apprehensions about the BJP-RSS combine. If these are your real views, I fail to understand how the JDU 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," Varma said.

In his letter, the expelled JD(U) leader said that Nitish Kumar had told him in 2012 that Narendra Modi and his policies are inimical for the country. He also mentioned Kumar's call for an "RSS-mukt Bharat (RSS-free India)". The RSS or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the ideological mentor of the ruling BJP.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2020 04:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).