Mumbai: 'Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the deity not only of us but of the entire country. His humiliation will not be tolerated'. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expressed his sentiments on Bangalore incident of Shivaji Maharaj statue. He said that the Prime Minister should take immediate action to stop this heinous and perverted attitude by the Kannada atrocities on the Marathi people in Karnataka and ask the state government to take immediate action against those involved.
'If there is any incident regarding the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Bangalore, then it should be thoroughly investigated. Don't turn a blind eye on this regard'. Uddhav Thackeray said. He also said that Marathi brothers in Karnataka have been persecuted for the past several years and now there is an incident of desecration of their deity like Shivaraya and the government there is turning a blind eye to it.
'In his recent speech at the Kashi Vishweshwar Temple in Varanasi, the Prime Minister had lauded the emergence of mighty kings like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj' he continued.
Uddhav Thackeray said that it is very reprehensible and insulting that the same Shivaji Maharaj were being slandered in BJP-ruled Karnataka just a few days after the event, and instead of taking action against anyone, they are trying to suppress the voice of Marathi people, he said.
'No matter who has the government in the state, the freedom hero do not change. The Prime Minister should immediately order the state government to put an end to this heinous act without any delay. Marathi speakers used to be strangled in Belgaum. Kannada activists used to attack Marathi speakers who were fighting border issues in a legal way', said Uddhav Thackeray.
'At the same time, Chhatrapati Shivaji's name was used only for politics and when our deity was disrespected, he used to play a botched role. This will never be tolerated. It should be noted that it is not possible to evade Marathi identity', Cheif minister said. Uddhav Thackeray has also said that the central government should also take concrete steps in this regard.