Sharad Pawar also said that it has been done to divert the attention of people from the economic issues which our country is facing. (File) Sharad Pawar also said that it has been done to divert the attention of people from the economic issues which our country is facing. (File)

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar Saturday asserted that Maharashtra will not implement the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC) saying they’ve been introduced with a strategy to destabilise the religious and social harmony in the country.

Pawar said it has been done to divert the attention of people from the slowdown in the Indian economy. “CAA and NRC have been brought in by BJP Govt with a calculated strategy to adversely affect the religious and social harmony in the country. They are using it to divert attention from economic issues,” the NCP chief said.

“Eight states in total including Bihar which as a BJP alliance government, have announced that they won’t implement NRC. I think it would be appropriate for the Maharashtra government to take a similar stance,” Pawar added.

Adding that not just minorities, but those who care for the country’s unity and progress are opposing CAA and NRC, Pawar questioned why only migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will be given citizenship under the amended law and not the Sri Lankan Tamils.

Talking about the arrests which have been made in the Elgaar Parishad case, Pawar said, “Some of the accused in Elgaar Parishad have been booked for merely for reading poems which contain violent imagery and strong language. The police used this to arrest and jail them. This is the misuse of power.”

Meanwhile, on Friday, protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act took a violent turn in Beed, Parbhani, Nanded and Hingoli districts of Marathawada region on Friday, with at least a dozen injured in stone-pelting.

Pune city saw its largest protest so far, with an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 people taking to the streets. A silent foot march saw participation by thousands, who came out on the streets following Friday prayers. In Nashik, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad held a rally in support of CAA.

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