India / Uddhav Thackeray defends CAA, but says won't allow NRC in Maharashtra

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has said that he will not allow the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be implemented in the state but also defended the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) saying it is not about taking away citizenship rights from anyone.

Thackeray’s backing of the Citizenship Act may create issues in the coalition government of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress in Maharashtra. The Congress and NCP — Sena’s new alliance partners — have already opposed the amendment.

In a short video clip of an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray said the amendment in the Citizenship Act is not about taking away citizenship. “CAA is not a law to remove anybody from the country,” Thackeray is seen responding in the teaser video clip of the interview conducted by Sena leader and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut.

Thackeray has also sought to assuage concerns of Muslims over the implementation of NRC. The chief minister said that proving citizenship will be difficult for both Hindus and Muslims. Thackeray said, “Proving citizenship will be difficult for both Hindus and Muslims. I will not let that happen.”

The Shiv Sena had backed the Citizenship Amendment Bill when it was tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2019. However, after the Congress leadership expressed unhappiness over Sena’s stance, the party did not back the Bill in Rajya Sabha. Sena MPs, including Raut, walked out ahead of the voting on the Bill in the upper house. Subsequently, the Sena mouthpiece had slammed the Narendra Modi-government on the CAA and NRC stating that it had led to countywide protests.

In the video, Raut also asked Thackeray if he is firm on his stand to remove “illegal Pakistanis and Bangladeshis immigrants”. Though it has been Shiv Sena’s stance since the time of Bal Thackeray to “throw out” illegal Bangladeshis and Pakistanis in Mumbai and Maharashtra, the issue has now been taken up by Uddhav’s estranged cousin and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, who has adopted a hardline Hindutva stance.

Political observers pointed out that Thackeray continues to play the Sena’s Hindutva card while managing to keep the secular allies happy in Maharashtra. The first part of the three-part interview will appear on Monday in ‘Saamana’.