Leaders demand action against Raj Thackeray

Condemning the attack on Azmi,SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said his party leader had done the nation proud by taking oath in the national lanaguage. “I would like to congratulate Azmi for maintaining the honour of the national language by taking oath in Hindi,” he told reporters in Lucknow.

Reacting to the incident,RJD chief Lalu Prasad said in Patna that if efforts were not taken urgently to check divisive forces,the country could disintegrate.

“If India splits,it will be because of elements like Raj Thackeray. If urgent steps are not taken to keep such elements under check,nobody can save the country from disintegration,” Prasad said,asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take strong to stop such acts.

His ally and LJP leader Ram Vilas Paswan said,”Hindi is our national language and Raj Thackeray and others responsible for the assault on Azmi must be arrested immediately.”

Echoing similar sentiments,CPI leader D Raja said everyone had the right to take oath in the language he wants.

Raja said the design of the MNS to create division on various grounds like language was “highly condemnable” and criticised the silence of the Congress and the NCP on the issue.

Demanding a ban on MNS,Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar called for legal action against the legislators involved in the “unlawful act”.

“It is a highly condemnable act … Stern legal action under the Criminal Procedure Code should be taken against the MLAs of the MNS,” he said in Patna.

“We respect Marathi … But at the same time it is intolerable to allow people to show disrespect to Hindi – our national language,” the JD(U) leader said.

SP General Secretary Amar Singh said the MNS chief was known for hooliganism. “We cannot tolerate insult to the national language,” he said.

Raj Thackeray had last month warned that his party legislators would ensure that all MLAs in Maharashtra took oath in Marathi.

An unrepentant Ram Kadam,the MLA who slapped Azmi,said,”We repeatedly requested Azmi to take oath in Marathi as a token of respect for the language and 11 crore people of Maharashtra,but he would not listen. We were left with no option but to convey our feelings in the language he understands.”

Questioning the status of Hindi as national language,MNS spokesman Shirish Parkar asked,”Is it spoken in south India where local languages are the medium of communication.

Azmi has always taken up the cause of the people from Uttar Padesh and hurt Maharashtrian pride.”