I guarantee you that no one can ignore you till the time we are around, Nitish Kumar said
As protests against the new citizenship law swept the country on Thursday, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took out time to reassure the Muslim community, left upset by his party's role in passing the law in parliament.
The contentious law promises citizenship to non-Muslims from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who moved to India by 2014. Critics say it challenges the foundations of India's secular constitution by making religion a criterion for citizenship.
The Chief Minister's Janata Dal United, which initially opposed the citizenship bill, had supported it in both houses of parliament, saying it was about granting citizenship to people from certain countries. It had helped the law to pass the Rajya Sabha test, where the government lacks the numbers.
On Thursday at a government meeting in Gaya, the Chief Minister promised Muslims full safety and security.
"I guarantee you that no one can ignore you till the time we are around," Mr Kumar said. "No one can do (you) any damage but let's move together. I won't let anyone, irrespective of his religion or community, to suffer any difficulties," he added.
Mr Kumar is yet to clarify his stance on the other hugely controversial issue - the National Citizens' Registry, which the government plans to take across the country. The process, meant to weed out illegal migrants from the country, had left out near 19 lakh people - many of them Muslims -- when it was rolled out in Assam earlier this year.
The flip flop of the JDU is seen to have alienated the Muslims, among whom Lalu Yadav's Rashtriya Janata Dal had found a ready votebank during the bypolls in October. With assembly elections in Bihar due next year, Mr Kumar is seen to be trying to clamber back to favour.
For now, he also appears to have patched up the differences within the party over the move - several senior leaders, including Prashant Kishor, had questioned the move.
The country has seen a wave of protests over the citizenship law, which peaked today with protests across 10 states. Three persons died - two in Mangaluru and one in Lucknow - and several people, including policemen, have been injured. Internet has been suspended in parts of Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka and Mangaluru has been placed under curfew till Saturday.