Nisha Nambiar

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 Ahead of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s public rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai last week, where he reiterated his stand against north Indian migrants in the state, all political parties had joined to take a stand against his single-point agenda. And they all harped on how the MNS chief’s “son of the soil” propaganda was a violation of constitutional rights and a threat to national integration.

It started with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) western region chief Anil Kukde issuing a statement from the party’s Pune office last Wednesday condemning the anti-north Indian tirade and voicing views against parochial politics of “some leaders” without actually mentioning the name of the MNS chief.

Now, with the Shiv Sena and BJP too coming out openly to condemn the attacks on north Indians in the state, the Congress that has been condemning the attacks from the start feels its stand has been vindicated.

“The BJP, Shiv Sena and the RSS have veered around to our stand of many days ago when we organised the Uttar Bharatiya Ekta Manch, pleading with the stricken north Indian population in Pune not to flee the city. It’s a clear violation of constitutional rights and is also a threat to national integration,” said city Congress chief Abhay Chhajed.

Pune MP Suresh Kalmadi was at the forefront and organised dharnas at the Pune railway station in a bid to stop labourers of north Indian origin from leaving the city.

The Shiv Sena too spoke out against Raj’s stand. Pune city Sena chief Nana Wadekar said, “Only if the rights of the Marathi manoos are threatened or violated will the Sena raise its voice and not otherwise. Why should innocent taxi drivers or masons suffer?”

City BJP member and corporator Anil Shirole too feels that instead of Indians fighting each other, all political parties must take a stand on Bangladeshi immigrants. “It is pointless to harm our own brothers,’’ he said.

Not willing to be left out in this race is the NCP, already on the move with a unit exclusively for north Indians that conducts regular meets with around more than 25,000 members in place. City unit president of NCP Jaidev Gaikwad said, “There should be no violation of rights of any Indian. We should instead give them security.”

With nearly 4.5 lakh north Indians in the city, Uttar Bharatiya Vikas Parishad president Satishchandra Dube expressed concern that they were being made pawns in a political game. “While it is good that some of the political parties are stepping out in support of us, we also fear that they are trying to gain political mileage without actually having any empathy for our plight,” he said.

While Dube felt the remedy lay in removing social and economic disparities and having these migrants join the mainstream, the RSS believes it can deliver on this front as they are open to embracing “people from outside the state” in an attempt to rejuvenate its shriveling shakhas.