Unfazed by strident criticism of his cousin Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader Raj Thackeray over his anti-Bihari remarks, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday sought a permit system to check the influx of Bihari migrants into Mumbai.
Uddhav also declared that his party would not accept Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar as National Democratic Alliance's prime ministerial candidate if he continues to stick to his stand on supporting "traitors".
"The Bihar CM should have felt ashamed that the Amar Jawan memorial vandal turned out to be a Bihari," Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Tuesday quoted Uddhav as saying.
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Uddhav seeks permits for Bihari migrants
"If the Mumbai police needs the Bihar police's permission to nab criminals who have committed crimes in Maharashtra and escaped to Bihar, then implement the permit system for those coming here from Bihar," Uddhav said.
By meddling in police action in the matter of a person from Bihar arrested in the Azad Maidan violence case, Nitish Kumar has fueled a controversy, he said.
Raj Thackeray had last week threatened to brand Biharis in Maharashtra as infiltrators.
Taking a dig at the MNS, Uddhav said, "If there are followers who are taking up Shiv Sena's issues like Marathi pride, issues of sons of soil and opposition to Pakistani artistes, it is good."
"However, there is no navnirman (new creation) in taking up old issues," Uddhav said.
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Uddhav seeks permits for Bihari migrants
On Monday, Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray had said Bihar's chief secretary had no business interfering in the action taken by the Mumbai police to arrest a person accused of violence at Azad Maidan.
"Nitish Kumar should have congratulated the Mumbai police for their action as the arrest had prevented Abdul Qadir from fomenting more trouble in that state," he had said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday hit out at Shiv Sena leader and NDA ally Uddhav Thackeray for his comments.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the BJP, fought against the permit system in Jammu and Kashmir.
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Uddhav seeks permits for Bihari migrants
"The party's founder Shyama Prasad Mookherjee sacrificed his life fighting against the permit system for Indians entering the state of Jammu and Kashmir. We don't need a permit to go to Maharashtra," he said.
Hussain, who is a Member of Parliament from Bhagalpur in Bihar, said Maharashtra is a part of India and every citizen of the country has a right to visit it and earn his livelihood there.
"We will not accept this. Every Bihari has the right to go to any part of the country," Hussain said.
Uddhav Thackeray had echoed the views of his cousin and MNS Chief Raj to demand that a permit system for Biharis in Maharashtra should be implemented in the state.
The outsider issue has gained prominence since the ethnic violence in Assam took place.
Recently, a crowd protesting against these attacks indulged in violence and vandalised the Amar Jawan Jyoti memorial in Mumbai.
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