Mumbai: After Shiv Sena (UBT) vandalised the Gujarati signboard, 'Maru Ghatkopar', the MNS party has now jumped into the fray. On Tuesday, the workers of the Raj Thackeray-led party ransacked a Gujarati signage, which displayed RB Mehta Marg, in Ghatkopar. The FPJ tried to contact MNS leader Sandip Deshpande, but he was unavailable. Initially, Sena (UBT) resorted to the controversial move after a Marathi woman was allegedly denied space in a Mulund society having sizable Gujarati presence.
Lashing at both the parties, ex-BJP corporator Pravin Chheda said, “We have not only written 'Maru Ghatkopar' in Gujarati but also in Marathi and English as well. We respect the Marathi language but no one should think that Gujaratis are soft targets.” The 'Maru Ghatkopar' board was not put up today, it was there from 2016. Have you been asleep since then, he asked.
'Marathi manus' strategy
Averring that MNS and Sena (UBT) want to take credit for 'Marathi manus' strategy, that's why they are unnecessarily targeting Gujaratis. Chheda also wrote to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Assistant Municipal Commissioner of N ward, Gajanan Bellale, requesting them to re-erect the Gujarati boards at the same places. “In the Muslim areas like Mohammed Ali Road, there are boards in Urdu, why Sena (UBT) and MNS don't take action against such boards,” he asked.
Echoing similar sentiment, ex-corporator Bhalchandra Shirsat said, “They should stop targeting Gujaratis for their personal benefit.” Similarly, BJP MLA Parag Shah said, “I condemned such incidents. We have registered a police complaint and action will be taken soon.”
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