MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena stance on CAS remains unsoftened. Shiv Sena supremo chief Bal Thackeray, who had reportedly eased up on his objections to conditional access during his meeting with information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday, has reiterated that his party continues to be opposed to CAS.
 

Thackeray now wants CAS to be first implemented in Delhi before it is taken to other cities, including his preserve, Mumbai. In a statement, Thackeray said in a statement, Implement CAS first in the national capital. If its successful there, then we will see about carrying it out in Mumbai.

The Sena supremo maintains that his talks with the minister remained inconclusive, while Prasad had on Friday, told the media that he had Thackeray's blessings for CAS once his concerns about protecting consumers were assuaged. 

Thackeray has in his statement said that he had told the minister that the Sena would not accept CAS just because the government had taken a decision on it. He made it clear that his party would consider agreeing to set-top boxes only if the interests of consumers and cable operators were protected.

The Sena chief warned that the government would have to pay a heavy price for forcing people to buy set-top boxes worth Rs 6,000. He had, last week, told the media that the government had struck a deal with a UK-based business magnate to dump set-top boxes in India.