NEW DELHI: Shiv Sena, which has been aiming at the Centre over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), said that Muslims belonging to Pakistan and Bangladesh should be thrown out of the country.
An editorial in the Saamana, a mouthpiece of the Sena, the party maintained that the amended citizenship law has elements that need modification.
"There is no doubt that Muslims of Pakistan and Bangladesh should be thrown out of the country, but to do that you need to change the color of your flag. This is very interesting. Shiv Sena has never changed its flag. It will remain saffron always. Shiv Sena has always fought for Hindutva. The CAA has several loopholes," the editorial stated.
The party also slammed MNS Chief Raj Thackeray for transforming "the color of the party’s flag to saffron" and making Hindutva its prime agenda in order to align with the BJP for votes.
"14 years ago Raj Thackeray formed a party for the Marathi ideology but now the track is changed to Hindutva. When Raj Thackeray during his speech addressed the people as his Hindu brothers and sisters, it was demanded by BJP. MNS neither got anything then, nor they will get now," the piece read.
"Just a few weeks back it was the same Raj Thackeray who opposed the CAA, and now just for votes, he is changing colors to earn brownie points. It’s clear that the BJP wants to get political benefits with their gimmick. CAA will not only affect Muslims but 30 to 40 percent Hindus either. In this law, army men, the family of an ex-president are not included and are being shown as inferiors," the editorial read.
Just a few days ago, Raj Thackeray had said that his party would lead a big protest on February 9 in Mumbai against those opposing CAA and NRC.
His views stand in contrast to what he had said earlier.
In December last year, Raj Thackeray had said that the illegal immigrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh should be thrown out of the country regardless of their religion. He had said that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act is uninvited call as it will increase the weight on India which is reportedly unable to serve the needs of its own people.