BJP is in illusion; won’t support Citizenship (Amendment) Bill ‘unless things are clear’: Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Shiv Sena supremo and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday declared that his party will not extend its support to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill “unless things are clear”.

In a strongly-worded statement to media persons, Uddhav said, “It is the Bharatiya Janata Party’s illusion that anyone who disagrees is a ‘deshdrohi’ (anti-national). We have suggested changes in the Citizenship Amendment Bill we want in Rajya Sabha. It is an illusion that only BJP cares for the country.”

“We clarified in our editorial in Saamana about our stand on the issue. Shiv Sena has always maintained that India has been dealing with a lot of infiltrators and this illegal immigration should stop,” he said.

The Maharashtra CM directed attention towards “issues faced by common man”, such as rising onion prices and unemployment. “Nobody needs to tell Shiv Sena what to do. We are not the kind who follow/unfollow people blindly. The country is still reeling with the effects of demonetisation.”

Earlier in the day, Shiv Sena MP from Lok Sabha Arvind Sawant, didn’t really express his party’s stand clearly on the CAB. “Alag alag bhumika hoti kya humari? Rashtra ki hith ki bhumika lekar Shiv Sena khadi rehti hain, yeh kisi ki monopoly nahi hai,”