The Congress on Monday assailed the Shiv Sena for criticising cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s “Mumbai for all” remark while the Sena’s ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party, found nothing wrong whatsoever in what the master batsman had said.
Condemning Sena chief Bal Thackeray’s criticism of Tendulkar’s remark, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said: “This reaction to Sachin Tendulkar’s assertion of his Indianness is completely unwarranted.”
Making a suo motu statement, the spokesman sought to clarify that normally the party would not have dignified Mr. Thackeray’s observations with a reaction as they were “not worth the paper they are written on.” “Though it is not our business to advise political parties on how to run their affairs but if they concentrate on national issues they would be able to play the role of a good constructive opposition,” Mr. Tiwari said.