Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Thursday challenged Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to perform Chhath Puja at Marina Beach in Chennai to oppose the imposition of Tamil by the Karunanidhi Government in schools across Tamil Nadu.

In an editorial in his newspaper Saamna, Thackeray referred to Lalu Prasad’s declaration that he would perform Chhath Puja in Mumbai in defiance of anti-North Indian campaign launched by Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena (MNS) of Raj Thackeray.

Although there is no love lost between Thackeray Sr and his estranged nephew, the Sena supremo hit back at Lalu Prasad and said, “Lalu, who has turned Bihar into a hell, should hold a mela of Biharis in Tamil Nadu ruled by his ally at the Centre to champion the cause of North Indians there.”

Thackeray also criticised local Congress leaders of North Indian origins who are demanding that Hindi be made an official language in the Mumbai civic body, the BMC.

Thackeray said “Let them try this out in Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkota and Guwahati first.”

He also mocked CM Vilasrao Deshmukh’s statement that Mumbai's doors were open to all and said, “Mumbai is being exploited criminally and economically at the cost of the Bhoomiputras who had remained underprivileged.”
Meanwhile, there has been a heavy exodus of North Indian workers  from Nasik's industrial belt, leaving many factories and workshops without their workforce.

A number of industrial units in Nasik, which was the worst hit during the MNS campaign claiming two lives, have been shut down due to loss of cheap labour force.

To prevent further losses, the Sena is ready to provide Maharashtrian unemployed youths for work, Nasik district Shiv Sena president Sunil Bagul said, also declaring that these workers will not form any unions after they join work in these industries.