‘He Insulted Marathi people…’: Uddhav Thackeray hits out at Maha Governor over ‘Gujaratis, Rajasthanis’ remark
Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of the Shiv Sena and a former chief minister of Maharashtra, attacked state governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday for his comments on “Gujaratis and Rajasthanis” and claimed that they were an insult to the Marathi people. According to Koshyari, if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are driven out of Mumbai, there won’t be any money left in the city, and it would no longer be the nation’s financial centre.
“Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been taking advantage of Maharashtra’s generosity for the past two and a half years, and today he is simply showing them disrespect… Mumbai and the Marathi people have made significant contributions to the state, the Sena leader remarked.
Thackeray demanded Koshyari’s apologies for his comments and accused the Governor of attempting to stoke tensions among Hindus.
“To decide whether to send him to prison or back home… I don’t want to disrespect the governor or anyone else in that position. I respect the chair, but because Bhagat Singh Koshyari insulted Marathis, the public is upset. Attempting to divide society along religious lines, he is crossing every limit,” the former chief minister said.
The governor made the following remarks at a gathering in the western suburb of Mumbai, Andheri, on Friday evening: “I tell people here that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Thane, you will have no money and Mumbai would not be a financial city.” he stated.
The governor later issued a statement on Saturday clarifying that his remarks had been “misconstrued” and that he had “no intention of belittling the hard work of the Marathi-speaking people in the progress and development of Maharashtra.” This came after the governor received a great deal of criticism for his remarks.
“I didn’t want to understate Marathi people. I only discussed the contributions made by people from Rajasthan and Gujarat. Because Marathi people devoted themselves to building Maharashtra, many Marathi businesses are well-known today “remarked the Governor.
