Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), accusing it of creating a hostile environment towards ‘Marathi manoos.’
Raut alleged that attacks on Marathi manoos, a term used for Marathi-speaking people, are on the rise following the BJP’s win in the state assembly elections.
Raut highlighted an incident at Kalyan in Thane district, where non-Marathi-speaking people allegedly attacked a Marathi-speaking family. The Shiv Sena leader claimed this was just the beginning of a larger conspiracy to marginalise the Marathi population.
“Attacks on Marathi manoos have increased after the state assembly polls. Attempts are being made to drive Marathi manoos out of Mumbai, and an environment is being created so that Marathi manoos don’t live in Thane and Kalyan,” he said.
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“A conspiracy is being hatched to attack Marathi manoos. Kalyan was the start,” he added.
Raut lashed out at the state government over the tragic death of 14 people in a collision between a Navy craft and a passenger ferry.
He criticized the government for failing to address rising criminal activity in rural Maharashtra, including dacoity and murders, which he attributed to the government’s ineptitude.
Raut also targeted the BJP for allegedly weakening the Shiv Sena, a party that, he said, had long represented the interests of the Marathi manoos.
He accused the BJP of dividing the Shiv Sena and turning its leadership into “puppets” eager to maintain power at the expense of the native people.
Raut also claimed that the BJP’s actions were creating a socio-economic environment where non-Marathi businessmen were being favoured in the region, pushing Marathi-speaking people out of their cities.
Sanjay Raut attacks Eknath Shinde over attacks on Marathi manoos
Hitting out at Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Raut said those calling themselves the Shiv Sena, who are part of the government, are inept and not bothered about the Kalyan incident.
“They (Shinde-led Shiv Sena) are desperate for power. The BJP’s stand is to destroy the Marathi manoos,” he said.
On the recent scuffle in the Parliament premises between the opposition’s INDIA bloc and NDA MPs over the alleged insult to Dr B R Ambedkar, Raut said former minister Pratap Chandra Sarangi and Mukesh Rajput were engaged in theatrics and should get a prize in dramatics.
On FIR being registered against Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, in connection with the scuffle, the Sena (UBT) MP said, “It is their (BJP) government.”
