Uddhav Thackeray: time to decide if Maharashtra Governor should be sent back home or jail

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday demanded an apology from Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his remarks on Mumbai, and said time has come to decide whether he should be sent back home or to jail.

Thackeray also accused the governor of "polarising Hindus living peacefully" in Mumbai and Thane.

Speaking during an event in Mumbai on Friday evening, Koshyari had said there will be no money left in Mumbai and it will cease to be the financial capital of the country if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are not there in the city. As his remarks kicked up a row, the governor on Saturday said his comments were misconstrued and added that he had "no intention of belittling the hard work of Marathi-speaking people".

Addressing a press conference at his residence 'Matoshree' here, Thackeray said, "The hatred that the governor harbours in his mind against Marathi people has inadvertently come out." He demanded that the governor tender an apology to Marathi people.

"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," Thackeray alleged.

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The former Maharashtra chief minister said when he was fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and people were dying, the governor wanted the places or religious worship be reopened.

''Koshyari did not approve the 12 names from the governor's quota for the Maharashtra Legislative Council. He also made derogatory remarks against social reformer Savitribai Phule,'' Thackeray alleged.