The political reverberations of attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra have begun to be felt in Delhi. Resigning from the Shiv Sena, Jai Bhagwan Goyal, northern India chief of the party and its face in Delhi for long, has announced that he will form a new party, Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena, which will be committed to Hindutva and nationalism. Goyal also said that he would not allow Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, whose outfit is believed to be instrumental in the attacks on migrants in Maharashtra, to set foot in Delhi. “I challenge Raj Thackeray to try and set foot in Delhi and we will show him what north Indians are,” he said.He told The Indian Express that Shiv Sena’s Haryana chief Suresh Sharma, Himachal chief Madhukar Dogri and Jharkhand chief Dinanath Pandey have also resigned. “Other north India Pramukhs of the organisation will also follow suit,” he claimed.“The BJP has let down Hindutva but we will not compromise on it at all. My party will give due respect to different regions and languages and will allow total freedom of thought and expression to represent the same. The party will be a challenge to those who want to divide this country by indulging in regional politics for their own selfish gains. As Indian citizens, north Indians are free to live anywhere and work without fear,” he said.Not only does this development indicate that the Shiv Sena is fast losing even its limited appeal outside Maharashtra and is going back to its original status of a regional, but it also signals an attempt in north India to set up yet another outfit catering to radical Hindutva. “We want to send the message that the attacks on north Indians in Maharashtra must stop now. Maharashtrians too stay in other parts of India. Members of Parliament from Maharashtra come to Delhi. If attacks on north Indians do not stop there, it is possible there may be reactions here,” he said.Attacking his former party, Goyal said: “The party is no different from the separatist and extremist forces active in Jammu and Kashmir. The main aim of these forces is to split the country. I joined Shiv Sena not to divide this nation but to strengthen Hindutva, our national language Hindi and for the overall unification of our country.” Goyal, however, maintains that he still has some respect for Balasaheb Thackeray. “He is a living legend who has made efforts to serve Hindus. But from the time Uddhav Thackerey has taken over as the working president of Shiv Sena, Balasaheb’s role has been reduced to that of a mere puppet and he is acting according to his son’s wishes,” he said.
