Mumbai, Jan 2 (IANS) The Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) on Friday attacked the Mahayuti government, saying that BJP leader Kripashankar Singh’s assertion that the next Mayor of Mumbai will be from the North Indian/Hindi-speaking community is not an isolated comment but is the “official stance” of the party to dilute the Marathi identity of the city and is a direct attack on Maharashtra’s regional pride.

The Thackeray camp, in an editorial in the party’s mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, titled “Traitors, Shame on your lives! Mumbai’s Mayor will only be Marathi’, warned that any attempt to “impose” a non-Marathi mayor on the city would trigger a backlash similar to the historic struggle for the state’s formation. “Mumbai belongs to the Marathi manush emotionally, geographically, and historically,” it said.

The editorial used sharp rhetoric to remind the BJP of Mumbai’s history. It stated that Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra, earned through the sacrifice of 106 martyrs during the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement. “No outsider can stake a claim over Mumbai. This state has already proven that the Mayor of Mumbai will be, and must be, a Marathi Manoos,” the editorial asserted.

“The BJP has finally spat out its bitterness through Kripashankar’s mouth…, but the ‘fake’ Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) remains silent, licking the boots of Amit Shah. They claim it is Singh’s ‘personal opinion’ to hide their own cowardice. Shame on your lives!” said the editorial.

It accused the current state leadership of “tucking their tails” instead of defending the pride of Maharashtra, alleging that they have surrendered Mumbai’s interests to their political masters in Delhi.

The Thackeray camp alleged that Kripashankar Singh is merely a “pawn” in a larger scheme orchestrated by the BJP leadership in Delhi. It claimed there is a systematic conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra and dilute the influence of the Marathi-speaking population in the city.

Addressing Singh’s clarification that he meant a “Hindu Mayor”, the editorial dismissed the explanation as a cover-up. “Mumbai has always had Hindu mayors, but they were Marathi Hindus. The BJP doesn’t want the Marathi Manoos; they only want to protect their vote bank under the guise of religion,” the editorial noted.

The editorial asserted that the BJP cannot “buy” Mumbai with money and that the city’s soul cannot be traded for votes. It urged BJP leaders to visit the Hutatma Smarak (Martyrs’ Memorial) at Flora Fountain to understand the blood-soaked history of the city before making such claims. The editorial claimed there is a deliberate plan by the BJP to systematically reduce the influence of Marathi Manoos in the upcoming BMC elections.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena said that the citizens of Mumbai would teach a lesson to those playing with the city’s identity in the upcoming elections, reiterating that the reins of Mumbai will remain in the hands of the “sons of the soil” and any dreams of a “Hindi-speaking Mayor” would be crushed by the people.

–IANS

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