Fadnavis hails Rajya Sabha nod to citizenship bill, slams Sena

BJP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday hailed the passage of the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha and slammed the Shiv Sena which abstained from voting after supporting the legislation in the Lok Sabha.

Fadnavis said he was pained to see the Shiv Sena, which heads the three-party government in Maharashtra along with the Congress and the NCP, "compromise" on core ideology for the "greed of power".

The Leader of Opposition in the assembly said the bill was on the lines of core values taught by Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

He congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the passage of the bill in the Upper House which completes the legislative process for giving Indian citizenship to non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Fadnavis said approval of the bill in the Upper House of Parliament was a "huge, historic humanitarian step".

"Courageous! Visionary! Commendable!Once again, many congratulations to Hon PM Narendra Modi ji, Hon HM Amit Shah ji for this huge, historic humanitarian step!