No one needs to fear about CAA, NPR: Uddhav Thackeray after meeting Modi
NEW DELHI : No one needs to fear about the CAA and the NPR is not going to throw anyone out of the country, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said here on Friday, after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This was Thackeray’s first meeting with Modi after taking over as the chief minister of Maharashtra. Thackeray’s Shiv Sena was earlier a part of the BJP-led NDA, but formed the “Maha Vikas Aghadi” government in Maharashtra with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after parting ways with the saffron party.
“I had a good discussion with the prime minister over issues concerning Maharashtra. I also discussed the CAA, NPR and NRC with the prime minister. No one needs to fear about the CAA. The NPR is not going to throw anyone out of the country,” Thackeray told reporters after the meeting with the prime minister.
“We discussed CAA, NRC and NPR (National Population Register). I have made my stand clear on these…There is no need to fear the CAA. The oppressed minorities will be benefited. The central government has said NRC will not be implemented across the country. If we see any dangers befalling the citizens, we will oppose it then,” Mr Thackeray said.
The chief minister also made it clear that the NPR exercise would be stopped in the state if there were objections raised against the questionnaire. The CAA has also been a sticking point between the Shiv Sena and its two ideologically disparate partners in Maharashtra, the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) which are both ardent opponents of the NRC and CAA.
He also denied that there was any friction among the constituents of the “Maha Aghadi”, while asserting that the Maharashtra government will complete its five-year term. The Congress and the NCP are reportedly miffed over the chief minister’s stand on NPR and CAA.
There is no friction among the allies. We are going to run the government for five years,” Thackeray said. He also said the prime minister had assured him of extending all cooperation to the Maharashtra government.
Meanwhile, The central government has promised that there will not be a nationwide exercise to make people prove their citizenship through a National Register of Citizens or NRC and so there is no need to be concerned about the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Friday following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
Plans of a pan-India NRC, announced by Home Minister Amit Shah in parliament and later refuted by the government, have been a major point of contention against the CAA that was enacted into law this year.
The law which promises citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from three neighbouring countries, had stoked fears that Muslims who are not able to prove their citizenship will be declared foreigners if a nationwide NRC was prepared on the lines of Assam.
The Sena had forged the coalition after ditching long-time ally BJP following last year’s state polls and this was Mr Thackeray’s first meeting with PM Modi after taking over as the chief minister of Maharashtra.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had a crucial role in bringing together the Sena and the Congress, said on Tuesday they will work out the differences with Uddhav Thackeray’s party. “We will convince the Sena,” he said.
On Friday, speaking to journalists after his meeting with PM Modi, Uddhav Thackeray played down the friction between the parties and the alliance will last its full five-year term. “We have made up our minds. We are following the Common Minimum Programme. There is no problem,” Mr Thackeray said.
The Shiv Sena leader is also met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and is expected to meet BJP veteran LK Advani and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi.
