NEW DELHI: A case was filed against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for his hate speech against the people of Bihar residing in Maharashtra.
The case was filed by social activist Biresh Pandey in Nalanda district court.
On August 31, Raj Thackeray threatened to brand Bihari migrants as 'infiltrators' and force them out of Maharashtra if Bihar takes legal action against Mumbai police for arresting a person involved in the August 11 Azad Maidan violence from Sitamarhi.
Thackeray had called Biharis in Maharashtra "infiltrators" in reaction to reports of a letter from the Bihar chief secretary warning Mumbai Police against picking up suspects from the state without first informing local police.
He also took potshots at Hindi news channels and said that he would shut them all down if they did not stop misquoting his speeches.
"People from Hindi channels dole out news without understanding the issue. Such channels should discontinue doing this, otherwise we will do what we can to stop this game," Thackeray declared.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray came out in stout defence of Raj Thackeray over his anti north Indian comments, saying that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should have congratulated Mumbai Police over the arrest of the youth, alleged to have terror links, from Bihar.
Thackery's comments have caused a political furore across the nation, with all political parties coming out in strong opposition to his outburst.
The MNS chief has come under severe criticism for his hate speech with Nitish Kumar saying: "He (Raj Thackeray) is indulging in cheap publicity to stay in the news. It is a comment of a man who is unsound of mind and deranged. I am surprised at the Maharashtra Government and at the Congress. It seems the Congress has forsaken all of its responsibilities. It appears as if they have outsourced the Maharashtra Government."
Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said people have a right to seek employment anywhere in the country.
"In this country, everybody has equal rights to go anywhere in the country and seek employment. This is a democratic right," he said.
On Thackeray targeting Hindi news channels, Shinde said: "It is not fair to target media. At times media criticises people and it should be accepted."
Congress Party has asked the country's media to boycott the likes of hardliner regional leader Raj Thackeray for threatening to shut down Hindi news channels.
"It is my sincere appeal to the media specially the news channels to boycott such people who incite separatist ideologies through mass communication. They are in the position to make inflammatory statements because the media displays it in the headlines. If you start boycotting such people it will put an end to such blatant statements," said Tewari.
Reacting to Raj Thackery's anti -north Indian rhetoric, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati blamed the Maharashtra government.
"This kind of a situation has risen because the Maharashtra government is not taking strict legal actions. The day government becomes strict, these speculations against the people of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and his comments against media will stop," she said.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi demanded that Raj Thackeray and his party should be declared a militant and hate mongering party.
"Now, if the Chief Secretary of Bihar has written such a letter to the Government of Maharashtra, then I don't think it is wrong. If the police officials of a state go to another state, then they should inform the government and the police of that concerned state. The country will be run as per the constitution, not by somebody's hooliganism," said Azmi.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Ram Kripal Yadav has also condemned Raj Thackeray's remark, and said Bihar and its people have had a glorious past.
"Bihar has formed this country with its blood and sweat. It has formed Maharashtra. A Bihari can never be a traitor to the nation. I think Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray should look into their own selves first. They should put restrictions on their tongues. They should try to keep themselves away from making anti-national statements," he said. (Agencies)
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