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Rahul to visit Mumbai despite Sena's warning

Last updated on: February 04, 2010 13:12 IST

Despite Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray's warning, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Mumbai on Friday.

The Congress party has confirmed Gandhi''s trip to Mumbai, which includes stops at two colleges that was scheduled before Thackeray threatened him to stay out of Mumbai's affairs.

However, the sources in the Congress government said the party is nervous about security arrangements taking into account the Sena activists targeting Gandhi.

Thackeray said on Wednesday, "Rahul should not interfere in Marathi affairs. Rahul should stop all this or we won't allow him into Mumbai."

Sena supremo Bal Thackeray had also hit back at Gandhi's ''Mumbai for all Indians'' comment saying Mumbai may belong to all Indians, but how could it belong to an Italian mummy.

In a statement in the party mouthpiece Saamna, Thackeray said, "Mumbai was not a guesthouse of the country that anyone comes to Mumbai and leaves."

Mumbai belongs to Maharashtra and the Marathi people, Thackeray said, and added, "If anyone is going to murder this truth, he will have to face weapons of Maharashtra."

Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticized both the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena for their unwarranted attacks on north Indians, and said that every inch of India belongs to each and every Indian.
Source: ANI