CM Uddhav Thackeray supports CAA, says won't allow NRC in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has supported the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) — which his party’s own allies, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, have opposed — saying that the law doesn’t throw anyone out of the country.

"The CAA is not a law which throws anyone out of the country," the Chief Minister said in an interview to Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, news agency ANI reported.

The CM, however, opposed the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). He said he will not implement it in the state, arguing that it would cause inconvenience to not just Muslims but to Hindus as well.

“According to the NRC, not just Muslims but it will be tough for Hindus as well to prove citizenship. So, I will not let that (NRC) come here," Thackeray was quoted as saying in an interview taken by Shiv Sena leader and Saamana editor Sanjay Raut.

Thackeray is leading a coalition government that was formed after long suspense when his party ended the alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) last year.

The CAA grants citizenship to members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, and facing religious persecution there.

The law has been protested against across India, as critics say it is designed to discriminate against Muslims and violates the secular principles of the constitution.