CAB ‘invisible partition’ of Hindus, Muslims: Sena

Mumbai: Even as the Shiv Sena voted in favour of the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) in the Lok Sabha, it accused the central government of playing vote bank politics under the garb of the bill.

The Sena questioned whether the “selective acceptance” of Hindu illegal immigrants would act as a trigger for a religious war in the country, and accused the Centre of executing an “invisible partition” of Hindus and Muslims over the bill.

The party also said that the onus of accommodating lakhs of refugees who would come from other countries lay on the shoulders of BJP-ruled states, Gujarat and Karnataka, as Maharashtra was already overcrowded with migrants.

In an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said, “There is no dearth of problems in India and now we are inviting new ones such as the CAB. It looks like the Centre has carried out an invisible partition of Hindus and Muslims over the bill. If someone is trying to play vote bank politics under the garb of the CAB, it is not in the interest of the country.”

The party questioned, “The exact number of such illegal immigrants should be known. If it is in lakhs, where are they going to be settled in India?”

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party said that in Maharashtra, the number of illegal immigrants was already putting pressure on local bodies in terms of providing civic amenities. “In such a scenario, states like Gujarat and Karnataka will have to play a major and humanitarian role in accommodating these immigrants,” it said, taking a dig at the BJP which is in power in both states.

“Most of the states from the north-east region have opposed the CAB, besides states like Bihar where the BJP is sharing power with the JD (U) chiefly because immigrants are seen as a threat to their regional culture. West Bengal is another major state opposing the bill,” the editorial said.