Worried over the MNS chief Raj Thackeray gaining support of Marathi manus by his tirade against North Indians, his cousin and Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray too has recited the similar tune, warning that the outside ‘parcels’ will be sent back if they are brought for the Mumbai airport modernisation work.
He was addressing a rally of airport workers and officers union affiliated to Shiv Sena’s labour wing Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, which has strong presence among the workers. He said the modernisation work is expected to create one lakh jobs in near future and the Marathi manus must get preference in recruitment.
“If you bring outside workers, then remember there are cargo planes. The parcels will be packed off in them,” he said to a roar of laughter and clapping.
Uddhav said the international airport has been named after Chhatrapati Shivaji after much struggle. “I want to see all namesplates welcoming the passengers to Mumbai in Marathi. If there are other name plates, blacken them, remove them,” he directed his Sainiks.
Following the directive, a group of Sainiks on Sunday blackened six sign boards put up at the domestic terminal advertising the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), a consortium of Hyderabad-based infrastructure company GVK, Airports Authority of India and Airport Company of South Africa, which is modernising and developing the airport. According the Airport Officers Union president Kiran Pawaskar, warned MIAL that if it did not change the sign boards’ text, the party would blacken all such sign boards.
Uddhav took a swipe at Raj saying Marathi people know what is original and what is fake. “Marathi people and Shiv Sena have an unbreakable bond. That is why it has upset some people,” he said.
Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece Saamna’s editor and MP Sanjay Raut stated in an article published on Sunday: “If the outsiders want to live in Mumbai and Maharashtra, then they will have to live like Maharashtrians and not like outsiders. We shall not allow them to display their strengths in this state.”
