Bal Thackeray hits out at Maharashtra Governor

March 06, 2010 01:53 pm | Updated 01:53 pm IST - Mumbai

A file picture of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. Photo: PTI

A file picture of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. Photo: PTI

After Sachin Tendulkar and Mukesh Ambani, Shiv Sena supremo on Saturday targeted Governor K. Sankaranarayanan on the “Mumbai belongs to all” issue, saying Congress “pensioners” who have lost touch with people’s sentiments have come to Raj Bhawan.

In a hard-hitting editorial in party mouthpiece ’Saamna’, Mr. Thackeray attacked the Governor for his comments that migrants will continue to come to Mumbai. “This is akin to betrayal of Maharashtra,” he said.

The Sena chief pressed for his oft repeated demand for a permit system to impose curbs on migrants coming to this metropolis.

“Mumbai has been made into a dharamshala. The only way to stop the influx of migrants is to start a permit system to impose curbs on those coming here,” Mr. Thackeray said

The Governor had said on Friday that “anybody can live in Mumbai. Only Mumbai can compete with itself. The rich, middle class and the poor co-exist here“.

In an informal interaction with media persons, his first since taking over the gubernatorial post on January 22, he said though civic and infrastructure facilities needed to be upgraded in the mega polis, migration from other parts of the country cannot be curbed.

Terming Governors who reside in the sprawling Raj Bhawan by the Arabian Sea here as “Congress pensioners”, Mr. Thackeray said, “Raj Bhawan has lost touch with people’s sentiments, that’s why you say such things.”

“Had Mr. Sankaranarayanan been the Governor of Karnataka, would he have dared to say let hordes of migrants come to Bengaluru,” Mr. Thackeray said.

The Sena chief had earlier targeted Tendulkar for saying that Mumbai belongs to the whole of India. Mr. Thackeray had earlier this week described the cricket icon as a ‘Bharat Ratna’ after he became the first cricketer to score a double century in ODIs.

Industrialist Mukesh Ambani had also faced the ire of the Sena over his “Mumbai belongs to all” remarks.

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