MNS chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday urged the citizens not to fall prey to the Sena-BJP view that the MNS is splitting the core Marathi vote bank. He was speaking at an election rally at the heart of the city Kasba Peth. Thackeray took a dig at the saffron combine for failing to protect the interests of locals. And instead accusing the MNS of division of votes. In Lok Sabha elections,if the MNS got vote in few thousands then it would have been considered as splitting of votes. But our candidate got several lakhs of votes, Raj said. The BJP has now realised the importance of son of the soil,he said. The party,which once fought for the cause,never raised its voice against the BJP-ruled Karnataka state for the injustice done to Marathi speaking people there. The MNS chief said that the Congress leaders have no self respect left and merely crawl in front of their party leaders in Delhi. People committed suicide after the accidental death of Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajshekhar Reddy while in Maharashtra they commit suicide because the chief minister is alive, Raj said. Raj said the state government had allowed private institutes to give professional degrees to locals,but alleged that institutes like Symbiosis have more students from outside the state than from within the state. These students further settle down in the state. It was high time that there was a check on it,he said. Citing the poor public transport system in the city,Thackeray said,I suspect that the automobile industry,run by Bajaj and Firodia,might be putting pressure on the government to not improve the public transport in the state. The MNS is contesting the elections to keep a check on those who rule the state,he said. Raj said he insists in speaking in Marathi and one should be proud of it. Home minister P Chidambaram and former President A P J Abdul Kalam only speak in English and no one questions their national integrity. But,when I insist that you speak in Marathi,everyone seems have a problem, he said. This means that we are taken for granted, he said. I am not against any language. I urge people to learn many languages,but not at the cost of Marathi language, Raj said adding he will speak only his mother tongue in public.
