BJP on Tuesday hit out at Shiv Sena leader and NDA ally Uddhav Thackeray for his comments that Biharis living in Maharashtra should carry a permit, saying the party has fought since its inception for allowing all Indians to visit and live in any part of the country.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said Jan Sangh, the predecessor of the party, fought against the permit system in Jammu and Kashmir.
“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.
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Mr. Hussain, who is MP from Bhagalpur in Bihar, said Maharashtra is part of India and every citizen of the country has a right to visit it and earn his livelihood.
“We will not accept this. Every Bihari has a right to go to any part of the country,” Mr. 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.
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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.