New Delhi: Maharashtra Assembly on Monday witnessed pandemonium when Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) legislators manhandled Samajwadi Party member Abu Asim Azmi for taking the oath of office in Hindi.
CNN-IBN spoke to Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh on his reactions over the issue.
CNN-IBN: Your leader has been manhandled by the MNS. What are you going to do now?
Amar Singh:The Congress is in power. Vilas Rao Deshmukhs of the world in order to divide few Maratha vote banks, I will not even spare NCP, they have created Raj Thackeray for their narrow gains. They will have to pay a price for it
CNN-IBN: What kind of action should be taken to these 13 MNS MLAs
Amar Singh: Religious fundamentalism is very lethal but regional fundamentalism is also very dangerous and it will divide our country on linguistic basis. Mumbai is the economic hub of the country and it is made by everybody. If somebody takes oath in Maratha in Parliament, we don't object. We should have respect for Hindi.
CNN-IBN: Don't you think looking at the sensitivity of the issue, Abu Azim should have taken oath in Marathi?
Amar Singh: How can a Hindi speaking person take oath in Marathi? Even Alagiri took oath in Tamil in the Rajya Sabha, we didn't object to that. Azmi didn't say that he will take oath in English. It is an irony that English is more accepted than Hindi. He has not been disrespectful to Marathi. Azmi wants to learn Marathi not because of Raj Thackeray's fear but because he want to understand the assembly proceding better. While he is on the way to learing Marathi, he should be given some leeway while he is doing these things in a language that he is well-versed in.
CNN-IBN:Will you file a police complaint against the MLAs?
Amar Singh: More than a police complaint, we will try to assess as to what are the consequences. Kirpa Shankar Singh who prophesies to be champions of north Indians, Congress party will have to do a lot of explaining. They want to revive Congress in Uttar Pradesh. Their sensitivities will be hurt. They will ask Rahul Gandhi by saying that you (Rahul ) want to create a space for yourself and the Congress party where as your leaders are encouraging dividing force like Raj Thackeray.
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