Advani fires salvo against Raj, Shiv Sena | FIR against Raj

New Delhi: In a veiled criticism of ally Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), BJP leader L K Advani on Monday said the remarks against north Indians were against the concept of national unity.

Dubbing them as “unacceptable,” Advani said, “No political party should say or do anything that weakens the country's unity or undermine the Constitution."

However, the BJP leader did not name any political outfit.

“What is being said in Maharashtra about people from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is not acceptable. It is against Constitution of India and against the concept of national unity," the BJP leader told reporters on the sidelines of a function when asked about the incidents in Mumbai.

"The Constitution gives right to every citizen to travel, settle and take up jobs in any part of the country," Advani added.

To drive home his point, the Leader of Opposition referred to the slogan of the erstwhile Jan Sangh "ek desh me do vidhan, do pradhan aur do nishan, nahi chalega, nahin chalega (In one country, we will not allow two constitutions, two prime ministers and two flags).”

His comments came a day after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray warned that his party will not tolerate workers 'brought from outside' for modernisation of the Mumbai airport. Raj Thackeray FIR-ed

A case was filed against Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi along with MNS leader Raj Thackeray.

The police finally filed cases against the two for promoting enmity between groups in the wake of widespread accusations that they were going slow on the violence against North Indians in Mumbai since last week.

Police sources told CNN-IBN that both could be arrested later this week after a complete security situation review.

“Police would be arresting Raj Thackeray and Abu Hashmi after completing all formalities,” Joint Commissioner of Police K L Prasad said.

Refuting suggestions that the police have acted under pressure, Prasad insisted that they acted in a professional manner.

Both Thackeray and Azmi have been booked under sections of the IPC that deal with the offence of promoting enmity between groups on grounds of race, place of residence, language and the like.

The two cases were filed at the Vikhroli and Shivaji Park police stations in Mumbai. The state government filed the cases after scrutinising the speeches of the two leaders.