Maharashtra not your ‘baap ki jaagir’: Lalu’s son Tejaswi hits back at Raj Thackeray

Lalu Prasad’s son and deputy Bihar Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav has hit out at Raj Thackeray over his remarks on non-Marathis getting autorickshaw permits in Maharashtra. Thackeray, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief, had yesterday asked his partymen to burn auto-rickshaws of non-Marathis.

Reacting sharply to Thackeray’s comment, Tejaswi said Thackeray should know that “Maharashtra is not ‘baap ki jaagir’ (father’s property) of anyone”. “Maharashtra and this country is not the property of anyone’s father. Raj Thackeray should know this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi should take immediate action against him,” Tejaswi told reporters in Patna.

“This is not the first time that Raj Thackeray has said something against the Biharis. But the BJP has not taken any action against him,” he added.

The Opposition parties in Maharashtra, Congress and NCP, have also slammed Thackeray while accusing him of pursuing hate politics. They demanded the BJP-Shiv Sena government to taken legal action against the MNS boss.

Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria said Thackeray’s “open threat to incite violence” speaks volumes about the BJP-led government’s inability to reign-in “terror elements”. NCP spokesman Nawab Malik said there are Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) provisions under which he can be arrested.

“It is shocking that somebody makes a hate speech and he is allowed to go scot-free,” Malik said.

“When a non-politician like Kanhaiya Kumar speaks, he is immediately labelled an anti-national and put behind bars. Why is the same yard stick not applied for Raj Thackeray?” he asked.

Claiming that 70 per cent of new autorickshaw permits were given to non-Marathis, Thackeray had yesterday threatened that his party workers will set afire these vehicles if they are seen plying on roads.

“If any such auto with a new permit is seen plying on the road, those sitting inside will be asked to come out and the auto will be set on fire. Since Shiv Sena holds the state transport portfolio, I want to ask how much is it getting in the deal,” Thackeray had said addressing a gathering of party supporters on the occasion of MNS’s 10th foundation day.