Uddhav Thackeray's Twist On Why He Won't Allow Citizens' List

NRC: Uddhav Thackeray said he won't allow National Register of Citizens in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has indicated he is not against the amended citizenship law, but would oppose the two other exercises that revolve around citizenship - the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party, which are allies of Mr Thackeray's Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, however, are against all the three - the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), NRC and NPR.

"The CAA is not a law which throws anyone out of the country," the Chief Minister said in an interview to party mouthpiece Saamana, according to news agency ANI. He said he would, however, not allow the NRC exercise to be carried out in Maharashtra because "Hindus would also find it tough to prove their citizenship."

It was alleged the names of many Hindus were not on the list after the NRC was first carried out in Assam.

"According to the National Register of Citizens, not just for Muslims but it will be tough for Hindus as well to prove citizenship. So I will not let that (NRC) come here," said Mr Thackeray, who is leading a coalition that was formed after a long suspense when his party ended the alliance with the BJP last year.

Mr Thackeray's interview was taken by party leader and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut, ANI reported.

The Citizenship (Amendment) Act for the first time makes religion the test of citizenship in India. The government says it will help minorities from three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship if they fled to India before 2015 because of religious persecution. Critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.

Protests against the CAA, NRC and NPR are going on at several areas of the country. A group of protesters have dug in at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh for months now.

With inputs from ANI