BJP will think positively if allies withdraw Sena-led govt's support: Shelar

If constituents of the Shiv Sena-led Maharashtra government choose to withdraw support over implementation of the new citizenship law, the BJP will think "positively" as the party is ready to make a "political compromise" if needed, a BJP leader said on Saturday. Former minister and BJP MLA from Mumbai Ashish Shelar also requested Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to implement the amended law in Maharashtra.

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Ashish Shelar on citizenship law in Maharashtra

The BJP and its ally Sena fell out over sharing of the post of the chief minister last month, after the assembly polls. The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena then joined hands with ideological rivals NCP and Congress to form a coalition government.

"The BJP requests Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to implement the new citizenship law in Maharashtra. The BJP at the Centre is trying to implement CAB in states," Shelar said.

READ | Shiv Sena To Reject CAB In Maharashtra? NCP-Congress Pressurize Uddhav Thackeray: Sources

He said the Congress, which is one of the constituents of the Maha Vika Aghadi (MVA) government, is against the implementation of the new law.

"If other partners take back the support of the Shiv Sena on the issue of implementation of the law in the state, the BJP will think positively. We are ready to make a political compromise if needed," he said.

Shelar said the Sena should give preference to the welfare of the nation instead of its government. "The CAB is for the welfare of the state and the nation," he told reporters. According to the CAB, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities, who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, till December 31, 2014, facing religious persecution there, will be given Indian citizenship. Shelar also criticised Sena MPs for staging a walkout when the CAB was tabled in the Rajya Sabha for voting on Wednesday.

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The Sena had supported the bill in the Lok Sabha during its passage on the last Monday. The CAB received Presidential assent on Thursday. Meanwhile, when asked about sulking BJP leader Eknath Khadse's criticism of certain BJP leaders, Shelar refused to comment. Khadse and another disgruntled BJP leader Pankaja Munde had raised a banner of revolt against former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis in a rally on Thursday, without taking his name. Khadse is sulking since the defeat of his daughter Rohini in the Assembly polls in Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra. Pankaja, a former minister, too blames senior party leaders (read Fadnavis) for her defeat from Parli seat in Beed district of Marathwada region. Shelar said the BJP faced defeat on 12 seats in North Maharashtra in the Assembly elections held in October this year.

"I will visit all the 12 assembly constituencies and send a detailed report about the defeat to the party high command," Shelar said.

He accused the new government of "stalling" a fund of Rs 30 crore granted by Fadnavis during his tenure as the CM for the development of Nashik.

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