Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday said, “Migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar should question the leaders in their home states for lack of development.”
For the first time, Thackeray addressed a public meeting in Hindi. He was addressing a rally organised by the Uttar Bharatiya Manch, an organisation of North Indians living in Mumbai.
He said he was not there to give any clarifications for the past agitations of his party, but to make his argument in Hindi so that it would reach a wider audience.
He said,”States such as Uttar Pradesh have given so many prime ministers, including current prime minister Narendra Modi (who is MP from Varanasi). None of you ask them (the leaders), why the state is lagging behind in industrialisation and why there are no jobs there.”
“Most of the migration to Mumbai is from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Bangladesh. All I want is if people are coming to Maharashtra in search of livelihood, they should respect the local language and culture,” said the MNS chief.
On the issue of attacks on migrant workers in Gujarat, he said, “When I take a stand which leads to conflict with people from UP and Bihar, everyone comes down heavily on me. But after the recent attacks on Bihari people in Gujarat, nobody questioned the ruling party (BJP) or the prime minister (whose home state is Gujarat).”
Accusing media of hyping only his stand on the issue, he said, “Similar opposition (to outsiders) was seen in Assam as well as in Goa, but those issues were never blown up by the media. But the coverage of my agitation is always colourful and widespread.”
He added,”I want these poor states to prosper as well. But instead of asking questions to their leaders, most of them prefer to rush to Mumbai. The burden on the city’s infrastructure is increasing.”
He further justified by saying, “If the rights of local people are violated by outsiders, a conflict is bound to happen.”