Maha govt "instigating" anti-CAA protests: Shelar

The Shiv Sena-led government in Maharashtra is "instigating" protests against the new citizenship law and spreading "misinformation" about the controversial legislation, former minister and senior BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged on Tuesday.

Shelar raised the issue of anti-CAA protests and the government's alleged role in them with Governor B S Koshyari whom he met along with Mumbai BJP president Mangal Prabhat Lodha and a group of party MLAs at Raj Bhavan here.

Like in other states, Maharashtra, too, has been rocked by protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), passed by Parliament two weeks ago, and the proposed nationwide National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Follow the Citizenship Act protests and developments live

Speaking to reporters, the BJP leader said, "It seems the government in Maharashtra is itself providing some misinformation to those protesting against the CAA.

"Hence, we met the governor and asked him to watch the way some people in the government are acting on the CAA."

Shelar accused the Sena-NCP-Congress government of "instigating" anti-CAA protests and asked it to refrain from doing so.

"The state should not instigate any particular group for agitation and the governor should keep an eye on such developments," the former minister said.

Asked about the governor's response, Shelar said, "Koshyari asked us to meet the chief minister as well and inform him about such misinformation."

The new citizenship law, approved by the President, has triggered massive protests across the country. The legislation promises Indian citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

CAA's critics say the law is discriminatory and violates the core values of the Constitution.

The proposed NRC is supposed to document bonafide Indian citizens and identify illegal immigrants.