Raj Thackeray targets North Indians again

"Over 95 per cent of automen caught indulging in malpractices were from UP and Bihar," Raj told reporters and threatened that his party would "step in" if commuters suffer due to the "arrogant" behaviour of autodrivers.

"All such people are coming from outside states.... They are staying in Mumbai and Thane using bogus documents," he said while lashing out at trade unionist Sharad Rao whose Mumbai Auto-rickshawmen's Union has threatened to go on indefinite strike next month.
"My appeal to Marathi automen is not to side with such people."

Raj said the "culture prevalent in places where they come from, they want to bring in the same culture here in Mumbai and Maharashtra."

Flaying Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi for supporting the cause of automen, Raj said, "The reason why Abu supports them is because they also come from the same place like Azamgarh."

Raj's statement came a day after auto drivers went off the city roads giving commuters in the suburbs a harrowing time, for the second time in two weeks.

Raj is known for his tirade against North Indians. "Those from North India should know that this is not Uttar Pradesh or Bihar but Maharashtra. They should mend their ways or would be dealt with firmly," he had said last year during a rally.

Recently, he had blamed "hordes of migrants" coming to the city for spurt in crime rate and for the increase of terror attacks in the state.