Although Thackeray and cousin Uddhav Thackeray rarely see eye to eye, he agreed with the Sena executive president that the row was uncalled for.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Wednesday rubbished Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s statement that “North Indians had saved Mumbai”.
“Rahul’s grandmother Indiraji had appointed General Arunkumar Vaidya, a Maharashtrian to lead operation Blue Star to eliminate terrorists in Amritsar. But we never said that Maharashtra saved Punjab,” Thackeray said during a rally in Dombivli, a strong hold of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
The Congress general secretary on Monday had said that Biharis were in several ways “running the country”, and that the battle for Mumbai on 26/11 was fought and won by commandos from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Thackeray also lashed out at RSS functionary Ram Madhav and industrialist Mukesh Ambani for their ‘Mumbai for all’ remarks.
“They say Mumbai belongs to India. When did I say Mumbai belongs to Afghanistan or China? I am not against the country’s integrity. The 26/11 attack was Delhi’s intelligence failure and you are blaming Maharashtra for that,” the MNS chief said. “If Ram Madhav has guts he should go to Karnataka and ask the BJP government there to change their pro-local laws.”
Thackeray further said: “It was easy for Mukesh Ambani to make a statement sitting in London. When he had to set up a big project he chose Gujarat. Why? Because he loves his home state. Then why am I at fault if I also love my home?” he asked.
“You asked Sachin [Tendulkar] about Mumbai. He is a cricketer. Do not ask him that. Did I ask Sonia Gandhi about the football score?” he questioned.
Although Thackeray and cousin Uddhav Thackeray rarely see eye to eye, he agreed with the Sena executive president that the row was uncalled for.
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