In a strongly worded editorial in its mouthpiece Saamna, the Shiv Sena not only questioned the BJP’s vote bank politics, but also wondered if it would lead to communal violence. The piece said, “There is no dearth of problems in India now but still we are inviting new ones such as CAB. It looks like the Centre has made an invisible partition of Hindus and Muslims over the bill.” It went on to ask, “It is true that there is no other country for Hindus except Hindustan. But by accepting only Hindus among the illegal immigrants…will it be a trigger of a religious war in the country?”
The editorial appeared on the morning of December 9, the same day the CAB was tabled and discussed in the Lok Sabha.
And while it did not reject the CAB outright, the Shiv Sena suggested that the newly minted citizens under CAB not be granted voting rights for 25 years. This is a tactical move, as it allows the Shiv Sena a tight-rope walk balancing its relationship with the BJP at the Center and the Congress and NCP in Maharashtra. In fact, once again genuflecting at Modi’s alter, perhaps out of habit, the Shiv Sena said, “Like Pakistan, PM Modi should teach a strong lesson to other neighbouring countries torturing the communities like Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Parsis and Jains”. The piece added, “Now, he should ensure that these communities won’t have to leave their respective countries with his similar adventurous actions. This would help in strengthening the country’s internal security as well.”
The Shiv Sena has 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha and only three MPs namely, Anil Desai, Rajkumar Dhoot and Sanjay Raut in the Rajya Sabha.