Do you think Sachin Tendulkar was wrong to say that he is Indian first and then Maharashtrian?

In a rebuff to the 'Marathi Manoos' plank of the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackeray's MNS, Sachin Tendulkar said at a press conference in Mumbai on Friday that the city is for all Indians. "Mumbai belongs to India. That is how I look at it. I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that, but I am an Indian first," the cricket star said.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray criticised Sachin Tendulkar in an open letter in his party newspaper Saamna on Monday for the 'Mumbai for all' remark. He wrote that there was no need for the icon to take a 'cheeky single' by moving to the pitch of politics, an act that, Thackeray claimed, had hurt Marathi sentiment.

The Sena leader added, "By making these remarks, you have got run out on the Marathi psyche. You were not even born when the 'Marathi Manoos' got Mumbai, and 105 Marathi people had to sacrifice their lives to get Mumbai."

Should Tendulkar have maintained an apolitical stand on the sensitive issue? Do you think he was wrong to say that he is Indian first and then Maharashtrian?