MUMBAI, 4 March 2008 — Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) got a boost yesterday in its hate campaign against North Indians when leading Bollywood personalities came out in its support. Bollywood actor Nana Patekar said that Raj Thackeray had raised important issues and should be supported. He appreciated the signature campaign initiated by the MNS to protest against the gag order by the city police on Raj Thackeray.
The MNS has claimed that even North Indian migrants from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have come forward and participated in the signature drive that has been carried out in Mumbai for the last four days.
Apart from Patekar, actors Ashok Saraf, Sajid Khan, Prashant Damle and Mohan Joshi came out in support of Raj Thackeray’s campaign, while North Indian actor Ram Kishen and a few others said the campaign was unfair.
In an open letter by Patekar to the media, the actor said: “There may be a difference of opinion about the manner in which Raj had raised the issue, but there is no doubt about the importance of the issue.”
Patekar further states in the letter: “If the son-of-the-soil concept is wrong, then the formation of states on linguistic basis should also be questioned. To what extent can one bear the insult on one’s culture and people?”
Not to be outdone by Raj’s campaign, the Shiv Sena has demanded residential flats for the Marathi people. The Sena demanded that 50 percent of the Maharashtra Housing and Development Authority (MHADA) flats be set aside for those whose mother tongue is Marathi.
