National NEWS
Uddhav Asks Sangh Not to Intervene in Mumbai Affairs
February 1, 2010 Visionmp.com news service
In escalation of war of words between Shiv Sena and RSS over issue of migrant labour in Mumbai, Sena’s president Uddhav Thackeray has asked Sangh not to intervene in Mumbai’s affairs, reported NDTV.
In a statement issued, Thackeray said, “RSS should not intervene in Mumbai’s affairs. Hindi people were saved in Mumbai riots by Shiv Sena. Then, RSS did not act. If they are so fond of Hindi, they should teach it in South India. They should act to stop North Indians being targeted in Assam.”
The BJP and RSS has said that there should be no discrimination agaisnt North Indians in Maharashtra and no party should create a divide for the sake of political gain, reported PTI. "What the RSS has said (that North Indians should be protected in Maharashtra) is absolutely correct. All over India, every countryman has rights and all political parties should respect this basic feeling among all Indians," BJP vice-president Shanta Kumar said. He said political parties should keep in mind that 'just for politics, we should not divide the country'.
This past weekend, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had said that Mumbai belongs to all Indians. Also, RSS said that its volunteers would work to ‘prevent the spread of anti-North and anti-Hindi feelings’.
To this, Sena reacted vehemently with its leader Manohar Joshi declaring, “Mumbai belongs to…Marathi people. It is only because of the Shiv Sena’s struggle that Marathi people have been able to survive in Mumbai.”
It may be mentioned that the present political storm started after Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra announced new taxi permit rules making knowledge of Marathi and 15 years of residency in the state mandatory.
Following public criticism, Chief Minister Ashok Chavan softened his stand to say that Marathi was not a pre-requisite; drivers comfortable in Hindi and Gujarati would also be considered eligible.
The Sena grabbed the chance to attack migrant labour for stealing jobs from Maharasthrians.
In London last week, Mukesh Ambani said that Mumbai belongs to all of India.
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