Shiv Sena-Congress hiding truth about PMC, MSC merger: BJP's Kirit Somaiya

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kirit Somaiya on Thursday accused Shiv Sena and Congress of not revealing details about the merger of scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank and Maharashtra State Cooperative (MSC) Bank.

"Jayant Patil and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray are not telling the truth about the claimed merger of PMC and MSC. I have talked to MSC bank officials about this and they say it is impossible to merge these two banks," he said while speaking to ANI.

She also commented on Sena's walk-out during Citizenship (Amendment) Bill (CAB) 2019 vote and speculated that the conflict between the Congress and Shiv Sena will grow in the coming days.

"Conflict between Shiv Sena and Congress on CAB 2019 is just the beginning of their differences and it will grow even further as this is an alliance of betrayal.

Shiv Sena sought votes in the name of Modi ji, Nationalism and Hindutva but for the sake of being in power it joined hands with the Congress and National Congress Party," he said.

"Now their conflicts will grow when it will come to the issues of lucrative portfolios and contracts etc. Everyone will try to get maximum to eat," the BJP leader added.

Shiv Sena MPs in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday were not present in the House during the voting on the CAB, 2019. On being asked if they have boycotted the voting, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said, "Yes, Shiv Sena has boycotted the voting."

The party had on Monday voted in favour of the Bill in the Lok Sabha.

Raut had earlier today said that his party will support the Bill in the Rajya Sabha only if the Centre answers all the questions raised by his party chief Uddhav Thackeray.

However, the CAB smoothly sailed through Parliament after the Rajya Sabha passed it on Wednesday. As many as 125 members of the Upper House voted in favor of the Bill while 105 MPs voted against the Bill, which was passed by Lok Sabha earlier this week.

The Bill seeks to grant Indian citizenship to refugees from Hindu, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist and Zoroastrian communities fleeing religious persecution from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh and who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.