Member of Parliament (Member) Sanjay Raut Shiv Sena on Sunday criticized the BJP for opposing Maharashtra Minister Uddhav Thackeray's directive to require state police to keep a register of migrants arriving in other states, claim that the BJP is fighting the "foreigner" tag with an eye on the Uttar Pradesh Council and the Mumbai municipal elections scheduled for next year.
Raut in his weekly column "Rokhthok" in Sena, the "Saamana" spokesman said Thackeray (at a law and order review meeting with senior police officials on September 13) did not name any particular state regarding migrants", but the BJP said CM stands for North Indians.
"This is nothing more than an attempt to create divisions, and the allegations must be brought against such people," said member Rajya Sabha, editor of 'Saamana',
Mumbai is home to Bengali, Odiya, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu and areas of Matunga and Dharavi dominated by South Indians. They never call themselves strangers,” he said.
Raut says that Bengalis celebrate Durga Puja at Shivaji Park at the same time as the Shiv Sena rally in Dussehra, and Bengalis are never afraid and call themselves outsiders.
He added that Tamils, Telugu and Muslims celebrate their festivals here, and Gujaratis, Marwaris and Jains have become an integral part of Mumbai life. So who does the BJP consider an outsider? Raut asked.
"The country may be one, but maintaining law and order is a matter of the state. It is the job of the state government to act.
Not understanding what Thackeray meant, the BJP took the cards of foreigners and immigrants population of UP and Mumbai citizens polls,” he said
He said that "if the BJP's love for foreigners abets terrorist activities, atrocities against with women and making them miserable lives of 'children of the earth' is not fair."
Raut, whose party shares power with the NCP and Maharashtra's Parliament, said no one sees the rich as an outsider.
Only people who migrate for a living are called foreigners and that is sad, he added.
Those who practice politics "from the outside" in Maharashtra should learn a lesson from the results of the West Bengal Parliament elections where (Trinamool Parliament leader) Mamata Banerjee used Bengali pride to defeat ModiShah, a principal spokesman for Sena said.
Raut said Maharashtra BJP leader Chandrakant Patil asked why only foreigners are to blame and if Marathi is not guilty.
"This shows the deep hatred that the BJP has for the Marathi people," the Sena leader said.
"The answer to Patil's question is, why are ED after leaders of Shiv Sena and NCP, leaders of BJP so clean?" he wants to know.