Pawar says Maha shouldn’t enforce CAA; JD(U) moots all-party meet

PUNE/NEWDELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led central government over the citizenship amendment act (CAA) and urged the Maharashtra government, of which the NCP is a part, to refuse implementation of the contentious law.

Pawar alleged that the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) were mere “ploys” by the Centre to “divert attention” from serious issues plaguing the country, and that their implementation will disturb the social and religious harmony of the country. The 78-year-old leader added that it was not just the minorities, but those who are concerned about the country who were opposing CAA and NRC. “The Maharashtra government should take a stand in line with eight states that have opposed NRC. I am going to discuss the issue with CM Uddhav Thackeray,” Pawar said at a press conference in Pune.

The NCP chief’s statement comes amid widespread protests in the country against CAA, which was passed by Parliament earlier this month.

Tejashwi Yadav, leader of the opposition in the Bihar assembly, meanwhile, marched in a large procession against the amended citizenship act from the party office in Bir Chand Patel Marg in Patna to Dak Bungalow crossing. “I am Hindu. I am Indian. I am against CAA,” he tweeted.

Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Saturday called upon its ally BJP to convene a meeting of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) over the proposal to have a countrywide NRC.

“If a meeting of the NDA is called, the JD-U will welcome it. Given the conditions in the nation [over the anti-CAA protests], the meeting is very important,” JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi told ANI, adding that several NDA parties have expressed their views against NRC. He said Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar made it clear that it will not be implemented in the state. “We are against NRC,” he said.

Several other states -- including Kerala, Punjab, West Bengal and Rajasthan – have opposed the implementation of the proposed pan-India NRC exercise.