Leaders of several political parties from Hindi-speaking states and the CPI on Monday came down heavily on MNS whose members punched SP MLA Abu Asim Azmi for taking oath in Hindi and demanded action against Raj Thackeray for trying to divide the country on grounds of language.

They also termed the incident in the Maharashtra Assembly as "anti-national and unconstitutional" and said the country could disintegrate if divisive forces were not checked.

Condemning the attack on Azmi, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party leader had done the nation proud by taking oath in the national lanaguage. "I would like to congratulate Azmi for maintaining the honour of the national language by taking oath in Hindi," he told reporters in Lucknow.

Reacting to the incident, RJD chief Lalu Prasad said in Patna that if efforts were not taken urgently to check divisive forces, the country could disintegrate.

"If India splits, it will be because of elements like Raj Thackeray. If urgent steps are not taken to keep such elements under check, nobody can save the country from disintegration," Prasad said, asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take strong to stop such acts.

His ally and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said, "Hindi is our national language and Raj Thackeray and others responsible for the assault on Azmi must be arrested immediately."

Echoing similar sentiments, CPI leader D Raja said everyone had the right to take oath in the language he wants.

Raja said the design of the MNS to create division on various grounds like language was "highly condemnable" and criticised the silence of the Congress and the NCP on the issue.

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