'No One Can Insult Marathi People': CM Eknath Shinde On Guv's 'Gujarati-Rajasthani' Remark

"Marathi people have preserved their identity and pride and it shouldn't be insulted,” the chief minister said.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde

Source : Getty Images

New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said that he does not support the remark of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who said that “Mumbai will lose the tag of financial capital of India if the Rajasthanis and Gujaratis left”.

“The governor has his own personal views but we won't support his statements. We will never forget Mumbaikars, and the contribution of Marathi people to Mumbai,” news agency PTI quoted CM Shinde as saying.

“Mumbai is an important city with immense potential. Despite people from all over the country making it their home, Marathi people have preserved their identity and pride and it shouldn't be insulted,” the chief minister said, adding, “No one can insult Mumbai and Marathi people. Mumbai faced many calamities but it never stops, it continues to work 24x7 and gives employment, livelihood to thousands of people.”

Speaking at an event to name a chowk (intersection) in suburban Andheri on Friday evening, the Governor said, “I tell people here that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially from Mumbai and Thane, you will be left with no money and Mumbai will not be a financial capital.”

As he courted controversy over his remark, Koshyari on Saturday said that his comment was misconstrued, and asked the political parties not to trigger a row over it.

“There was no question of belittling the contribution of Marathi-speaking people and lauding one community does not mean insulting another,” he clarified.

Meanwhile, demanding an apology from the Governor, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The hatred that the governor harbours in his mind against the Marathi people has inadvertently come out. Time has come to decide whether to send Koshyari back home or to jail...In the last three years, he has insulted Marathi-speaking people despite staying in Maharashtra. Now with these comments, he has brought disrespect to the governor's post.”