Sena to greet Rahul with black flags in Mumbai

Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Thursday asked party members to show black flags to Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to Mumbai on Friday, to protest the Congress leader's 'Mumbai for all' comment.

Thackeray has asked Sena workers to show black flags to Rahul during his visit to the city, said senior party leader Sanjay Raut. The directive from Thackeray has come at a time when there has been a war of words between the Sena and the Congress over the migrant issue.

Rahul has ticked off the Sena by asserting that Mumbai is for all Indians and Indians have the fundamental right to live anywhere.

He has faced the ire of the Sena chief, who said the Congress leader was 'totally frustrated'. Thackeray said the Sena will not tolerate anything spoken against 'Marathi pride'. He also raked up Rahul's mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi's foreign origin, saying, "Mumbai may belong to all Indians but how can it belong to an Italian mummy?"

Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray has questioned the timing of the visit.

"What was the need for this visit now? There may be elections in Bihar, but we will not tolerate anything spoken against Mumbai and Marathi pride," he had said.

During his short visit, Rahul will interact with college students at the Bhaidas Hall in suburban Vile Parle and then proceed to Ramabai Nagar slum colony in Ghatkopar. The visit is part of the ongoing Mumbai Youth Congress membership drive for organisational elections.