India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Janata Dal (United) on Tuesday hit out at Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray after he supported his cousin Raj Thackeray's stand against migrants, saying Biharis are in Mumbai because of their hard work and have full rights in the country's commercial capital. JD (U) spokesperson Neeraj Kumar demanded that Uddhav Thackeray's political license should be cancelled and that he should be put in a special jail cell for making unwarranted statements against Biharis. "Who is Uddhav Thackeray to give a permit. They should be put in a special jail? His political license should be cancelled and he should be put in Mumbai's special cell. Such people are responsible for spreading tension in society," said Kumar. "Biharis are not a burden on anyone. They have made Mumbai and we have full rights on the commercial capital of the country. Bihari are there because of their deeds and hard work. Who are they to give advice?" he added. When asked for his reaction to the Thackeray brothers' claim that Biharis had majorly contributed to the rise in Mumbai's crime rate, Kumar said: "From where does Dawood Ibrahim belong? When the Mumbai terror attacks took place, why didn't they give their comments at that point of time. They are spreading tension in society." Uddhav Thackeray had earlier said that a permit system should be implemented for Biharis wanting to live in Mumbai. Thackeray made this statement in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna. He also criticized Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for interfering in the Azad Maidan violence case. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray had earlier also backed nephew Raj Thackeray on his stand against migrants. "There was no need for the Bihar chief secretary to meddle in the affairs of Mumbai Police. He should focus more on his state's administration," Bal Thackeray said a Saamna editorial. The editorial also said that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar should have congratulated Mumbai police for their action as the arrest had prevented Abdul Qadir from fomenting more trouble in Maharashtra . Abdul Qadir was recently arrested from his native Sitamarhi district in Bihar by a Mumbai Police team for allegedly vandalising the martyr's memorial during the August 11 protest at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had earlier charged the Centre and the Maharashtra Government with failure to rein in Raj Thackeray for his threat to throw Biharis out of Maharashtra . "The MNS chief's diatribes against Biharis pose a challenge to all governments to deal with a person who has been holding out threat to the migrant people. People have the constitutional right to live and work in any part of the country," he said. Alleging that Hindi news channels were 'distorting' his statements, Raj Thackeray on Sunday said they should not air news without understanding the issue. Thackeray said that "I want to tell the Hindi news channels to first understand the issue before it is broadcast... otherwise we know how to stop it." Thackeray's reaction comes after some Hindi news channels and leaders of JD (U), RJD and BJP from Bihar attacked him for his remarks on August 31 that he would brand Biharis as infiltrators and make them leave Maharashtra . Raj Thackeray had last week threatened to brand Biharis as "infiltrators" and force them out of Maharashtra if authorities in Bihar take legal action against Mumbai policemen who picked up one Abdul Qadir - in connection with Azad Maidan violence - from Sitamarhi district without informing their counterparts in that state.

JD (U) says Biharis have full right to live and work in Mumbai