No detention centres in Maharashtra, Muslims need not fear: Uddhav Thackeray
Mumbai: Amid nationwide protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has said there are no detention centres in the state and Muslim citizens need not worry under his regime.
He gave the assurance to a delegation led by some MLAs from the Muslim community who called on him on Monday.
Talking to PTI, NCP MLA Nawab Malik, who was part of the delegation, said the chief minister assured that Muslims will not face any injustice in the state.
The chief minister assuaged concerns of the community, saying the detention centre at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai was meant for foreign nationals involved in drug peddling cases, said Malik, whose party is an ally of the Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
Only 38 people can be kept there (Kharghar detention centre). It is meant for foreign nationals following their release from jail, before they can be extradited to their country of origin, Malik said quoting the chief minister.
"People should not have any misunderstanding about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. My government will not allow rights of citizens from any religion or community to be hurt.
I appeal for peace and harmony in the state," the NCP leader said quoting the CM.
Maharashtra Home Minister Eknath Shinde, Industries Minister Subhash Desai, Director General of Police Subodh Jaiswal, Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve, Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar and Congress MLA Amin Patel were also present on the occasion.
During a rally in New Delhi on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress, its allies and "urban Naxals" of spreading the rumour that Muslims will be sent to detention centres.
"The citizenship law or the NRC have nothing to do with Indian Muslims. They have nothing to worry," Modi said at the rally.
Former Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said his government had put up a proposal to set up a facility for temporary keeping of foreign nationals whose visas have expired.
"Yes. Cidco (City and Industrial Development Corporation) was asked to provide a land (in Navi Mumbai) to set up a centre for those foreigners who are found living in India beyond the visa expiry period. It is wrong to call such a facility a detention centre," he said.
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
