The rationale behind Nitish's anti-NRC stand and bonhomie with Tejashwi

The president of the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) also vociferously denounced a nationwide National Register for Citizens (NRC) and termed the BJP's demand for it "needless" and without justification

Last week, at the start of the Budget session of the Bihar Assembly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmakers were lining up to greet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. At the same time, Leader of the Opposition and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav was busy submitting an adjournment motion over the controversial National Population Register (NPR).

Less than 24 hours later, Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary accepted Tejashwi’s motion and a debate over the issue began. BJP members, at first, were a bit confused over the turn of events. The confusion deepened when Nitish appeared neutral over the issue, and not siding