DON’T FEAR CAA, SAYS UDDHAV AFTER PM MEET
Maha CM also called on Sonia Gandhi to discuss functioning of state coalition government
NEW DELHI : Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday accused some political leaders of instigating protestors against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, in Delhi and other parts of the country. The Shiv Sena chief’s remarks came soon after his nearly hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “Those people who have instigated it, they need to understand CAA… Why are we opposing it, why are we supporting it… First, we need to understand it,” Thackeray said.
NEW DELHI: Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday accused some political leaders of instigating protestors against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, in Delhi and other parts of the country.
At a news conference on his first visit to the national capital after becoming the chief minister in November, Thackeray stressed that there was no reason for people to be worried about the citizenship law, which seeks to fast-track grant of Indian citizenship to non-Muslim minorities form Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, or the National Population Register (NPR), a biometric record of people “ordinarily resident” in India.
“Those people who have instigated it, they need to understand CAA… Why are we opposing it, why are we supporting it… First, we need to understand it,” Thackeray said when asked if he would make efforts to convince the people about the CAA.
The Shiv Sena chief’s remarks came soon after his nearly hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi, whose party is a constituent of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra Vikas Afghadi government that also includes the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) . His son and state minister Aaditya accompanied him.
“We discussed CAA, NPR (National Population Register) and NRC (National Register of Citizens). As you know, I have already cleared my stand on CAA, NPR and NRC in an interview with Saamana {Shiv Sena mouthpiece}. I have understood these issues,” he said about his meeting with the Prime Minister.
In the interview earlier this month, Thackeray supported the CAA, insisting that it was not a law to remove someone from the country. He also quoted home minister Amit Shah as having said that the law was meant to give citizenship to people. “And I agree with him,” he told Saamana.
Thackeray’s stand had brought to the fore the differences within the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi over the contentious issues with both the Congress and the NCP opposing the CAA and NRC, and also the NPR in its present form.
“No one needs to fear about the CAA and it is not going to throw anyone out of the country. On NRC, the central government has already made it clear in Parliament that it will not be implemented across the country. It is restricted to Assam only. About NPR, it is like census that is done after every 10 years. I have assured the citizens of Maharashtra that I will not allow anyone to take away their rights,” Thackeray told reporters on Friday.
Asked if he approved of the NPR questionnaire, the chief minister said his stand on the issue was based on the information available to him. “NPR is also not going to throw anyone out of the country. But if it starts and we think that there is something dangerous about it, then there can be a dispute at that point,” he said.
The Shiv Sena’s communication cell posted a series of tweets about Thackeray’s remarks on the NPR and NRC.
“The NPR is proposed along with the census. It happened in 2010 too. Census happens every 10 years in our country. If there are new columns proposed in the NPR, they will be scrutinised by our government & if it seems problematic we won’t take it ahead,” one tweet said.
“NRC is problematic to every citizen, irrespective of caste, creed, religion any which way, and won’t let it come to Maharashtra,” said the Shiv Sena in another Tweet.
Thackeray denied there was any friction among the allies and asserted that the coalition government will complete its five-year term on the basis of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) it has adopted. The Shiv Sena had exited the National Democratic Alliance last year when it broke up with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its refusal to let Thackeray be the CM. Asked if he would try to convince the Congress on these issues, the Shiv Sena chief said, “We are already talking to them and that is why there is peace in Maharashtra.”
The chief minister said he had fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister and spoke about issues concerning Maharashtra. This was his second meeting with the PM after assuming the charge although the first in a formal setting.
Issues related to the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, Central Road Fund, the Baliraja Sanjivani Yojana and the Punjab
› Those people who have instigated it, they need to understand CAA… Why are we opposing it, why are we supporting it… First, we need to understand it. UDDHAV THACKERAY , Maharashtra chief minister
and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Limited, (PMC) scam were discussed in the meeting.
In his first meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, after he assumed charge as Maharashtra chief minister, Thackeray discussed the functioning of the coalition government and issues confronting the alliance.
Congress general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Mallikarjun Kharge and Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut were present at the venue. The Congress chief, the Maharashtra CM and his son later held talks separately. “We are a national party and whatever is the Congress Working Committee resolution on the issues of CAA, NRC and NPR, we will abide by it. As far as Maharashtra is concerned, Shiv Sena can’t decide alone. It has to consult other allies before taking any decision,” a Congress functionary said, indicating that this was the broad message given to the Shiv Sena leaders. The functionary requested anonymity.
Thackeray also called on BJP patriarch LK Advani at his residence and Union home minister Amit Shah.