Mumbai: After giving the opposition meet called by Congress to discuss the issues of Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Citizens a miss, the Shiv Sena on Monday declared that CAA in its current form would not be implemented in Maharashtra.
Putting to rest rumours that were sparked by the Sena’s flip-flops on attending the meeting, senior party leader Sanjay Raut blamed “some miscommunication” and said all three parties in Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi are on the same page.
Sena had earlier in the day claimed that it was "not aware" of the opposition parties meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and that it had not received a formal invitation.
"We are not aware of such a meeting. We have not been invited for it. So, we have not taken any decision on it so far," Shiv Sena’s group leader in Lok Sabha Vinayak Raut told reporters.
But observers said that the decision not to attend the meeting was just an attempt to buy more time to firm up its stand on CAA, which has sparked massive protests across the country.
The party had voted in favour of the bill in Lok Sabha, but abstained in Rajya Sabha after being pressured by the Congress and NCP.
In Mumbai, top Sena leaders chose to remain mum on the sensitive issue and said only the Shiv Sena Lok Sabha Party chief would decide and speak on the matter.
The Shiv Sena is ruling Maharashtra in alliance with Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress since November 28. This is the latest instance in recent weeks that the Sena has adopted a divergent stance on certain issues which created ripples in the tri-party alliance.
However, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has repeatedly made it clear that the state government will not allow injustice to any section of society if the CAA/NRC/NPR is implemented.
The state Congress has held several agitations on the CAA and NRC and for the first time NCP president Sharad Pawar will lead a rally to oppose these laws on January 24 in Mumbai.
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