By IANS
Mumbai : In an attempt to woo non-Maharashtrians, the Shiv Sena Tuesday appealed to north Indians in Mumbai to consider themselves as people of the state and live in harmony with others.
Taking a different line from the earlier aggressive stance, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray told north Indians: “Please do not look upon yourselves as outsiders; stand by the ‘Marathi Manoos’ in his hour of crisis and rest assured he will rush to your aid when you are in danger.”
At a well-attended rally organised for north Indians by the party, Thackeray praised them and other non-Maharashtrians for contributing to the development of the state.
Thackeray urged them to appreciate the fact that the commercial capital of India is bursting at its seams and would not be able to take any more influx.
“If more and more people from outside the state continue coming in to Mumbai in search of livelihood, it will cause inconvenience not only to Maharashtrians here but also to all of you,” he told the rally dominated by women in the party’s Sena Bhavan office in Dadar.
Dispelling “an erroneous impression” that it was the first rally of its kind or that it was organised with an eye on the next elections, Shiv Sena spokesperson and parliamentarian Sanjay Raut told IANS that the party has a long-standing relationship with north Indians in Mumbai.
“We run a Hindi newspaper (‘Dopahar Ka Samna’) and always give representation to north Indians in elections at all levels,” Raut said.
Raut said the party has not planned similar rallies for other non-Marathi speaking people as it “does not work on caste or linguistic lines”.
“We organise rallies for north Indians as they are here in big numbers,” he clarified.