Citizenship law won’t be implemented in Maharashtra, hints Shiv Sena

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, Jan 13, 2020: After West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Kerala, Maharashtra may be the latest state to shun the implementation of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), hinted senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Monday, Yahoo reported.

 

When asked whether there was a rift in the Maha Vikas Aghadi, which also comprises Congress and NCP, regarding the CAA, Raut said all parties were on the same page on the Citizenship law. "There is no rift and all parties are on the same page on all issues, including CAA," Raut said.

Raut’s remarks come on a day the Shiv Sena skipped the Congress-led Opposition meeting on CAA in New Delhi. However, the Shiv Sena leader blamed “some miscommunication” for not attending the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut said they did not receive any invitation to the meeting. “We haven’t yet received the invitation to the meeting. We will take a call after discussing with party chief Uddhav Thackeray,” Vinayak Raut said.

Shiv Sena had voted in favour of the contentious law in the Lok Sabha but abstained in Rajya Sabha. Sanjay Raut’s remarks come three days after the government notified the controversial legislation, making it effective beginning January 10.

The notification comes in the backdrop of large-scale protests across the country against the Act and fears being expressed that along with the National Register of Citizens, the Act will practically disenfranchise a large number of Muslims.

Speaking at a seminar on January 5, Sanjay Raut had said people in Maharashtra need not be scared of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC), as the government was with them.

The Act, which grants illegal immigrants belonging to Hindu, Jain, Sikh, Parsi, Christian and Buddhist communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, has also been opposed by multiple state governments. Kerala and West Bengal have announced they will not implement CAA. The Kerala Assembly has even passed a resolution against it.