Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray said on Tuesday that until there was clarity on queries raised by the party on Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, Shiv Sena will not back it in Rajya Sabha. Shiv Sena offered its support to Citizenship Bill in Lok Sabha which passed the bill late on Monday. Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai that a detailed discussionand debate on the Bill was necessary.
"We need to change this notion that one who supports the Bill and the BJP is a patriot and one who opposes it is anti-national.The government should answer all the issues raised on the Bill," he said.
Although Shiv Sena had voted in favour of introduction of the bill in Lok Sabha on Monday, it said during the debate that PM Narendra Modi government was effecting an 'invisible partition' of Hindu and Muslims.
On Tuesday, Thackeray took a dig at the BJP, and wondered if people who have sought refuge in India and who will come under the Bill's ambit will now get more onions.
The Sena has suggested changes it wants to be included in the Bill in Rajya Sabha, he said. "Where will these refugees stay.. in which state. All this should be clarified,"he added.
"We raised some questions but they were not answered. It is an illusion that only the BJP cares for the country," Thackeray said.
"We don't take a stand based on who likes it or not," he said when asked about his party's stance on the Bill.
(With PTI inputs)
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