Uddhav Thackeray has said though he supports CAA, he is against NRC
In a blistering attack at Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray for favouring the Citizenship (Amendment) Act or CAA, Congress leader Nitin Raut on Wednesday said the support to the amended citizenship law by the Maha Vikas Aghadi leader was a "matter of survival" for Shiv Sena in the tripartite alliance.
"Supporting CAA is a matter of survival for Shiv Sena. In Maharashtra, we are the government formed by three parties. Congress differs from Uddhav's statement. No such decision was taken by the MVA," said Mr Raut, maintaining that it was his personal view on Mr Thackeray.
On how it can be his personal view, the Maharashtra cabinet minister took a jibe at Mr Thackeray: "He may be the Chief Minister but he is also the leader of the party, which he has to take care of."
On February 2, Shiv Sena chief said he supports the CAA, but he would not implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in his state as it would cause inconvenience to not just Muslims but to Hindus as well. "The CAA is not a law which throws anyone out of the country," he said in an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana.
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.