Maharashtra 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).

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