National

Raj Thackeray back at bashing

MUMBAI: Breaking his silence, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Raj Thackeray on Saturday justified his anti-north Indian stand, demanding 100 per cent jobs for Maharashtrians and not 80 per cent as per the State government policy.

At a rally in the Shivaji Park here, he said those who came to Maharashtra would have to learn Marathi and be part of the State’s culture and heritage.

Mr. Thackeray, speaking after a gag order against him was lifted last month and ignoring all suggestions for restraint, read out statistics from various government organisations to show that Maharashtrians got only a handful of jobs.

Mr. Thackeray asked his party workers to take direct action if they saw injustice and not wait for legal intervention.

He said that only Maharashtra Day should be celebrated and he would not tolerate the observance of any other commemorative day. He dared Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to perform chat puja in Mumbai. “Let’s see if he goes back.”

He slammed Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh for filing a “false case” on him, and said the media “spread false news” about a bottle attack on the Bachchan house. He reiterated that he had said nothing that was false about actor Amitabh Bachchan. He wished that Jaya Bachchan, who had said she knew of no Thackeray other than Bal Thackeray (Shiv Sena chief), had seen this large crowd.

The MNS leader said Uttar Pradesh and Bihar had a plan to take over Maharashtra and when he put a spoke in their wheel, the media and everyone else went against him. And in protest, he did not invite Hindi and English channels for his press conference on February 9.

He said he had never said “throw out the people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. I have not yet said so but if their dadagiri [bullying tactics] increases, I will have to do so,” he warned. “No one can take us for granted.”

Mr. Thackeray accused the media of sitting in judgment on him and putting pressure on the government to take action against him. Should the media be the judge?

Attacking Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar for going to the State Human Rights Commission against him, Mr Thackeray asked why she did not worry about illegal hutments which housed outsiders or about suicide by farmers.

Saying there was no need for anyone to teach him the Constitution, Mr. Thackeray read from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s works to prove that even the architect of the Constitution was worried about Hindi domination. All Presidents from the south used English to give speeches and not Hindi — such was their strong feeling against that language, he said.

The MNS leader claimed that Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss said in a book about actor Rajnikanth, a Maharashtrian, that no non-Dravidian should be allowed to occupy the Chief Minister’s chair. But no one criticised the Minister for this remark, he said.

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