Congress will not let the amended Citizenship Act get implemented in Maharashtra, state minister Nitin Raut asserted on Friday and said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will cooperate with the national party on the sensitive issue.
Mr Thackeray’s party Shiv Sena is heading the coalition government in Maharashtra, where the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP are the other ruling alliance constituents.
The contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (CAB) was approved by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha this week, and became an Act after President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to it on Thursday night.
The Act paves the way for granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have migrated after facing religious persecution in their respective country.
“The Congress is opposed to the CAB and we will not let it be implemented in Maharashtra…I think Uddhav ji will completely cooperate with us in this,” Mr Raut, a Congress leader, told PTI over the phone.
The Shiv Sena had supported the bill in the Lok Sabha, but had staged a walkout before it was put for voting in the Rajya Sabha.
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