Raj Thackeray claimed that most of those given new permits are non-Marathi and demanded that only sons of the soil should be given licences.
Highlights
- MNS Chief Raj Thackeray warns autos with new permits will be set on fire
- Parties want hate speech case against him
- Maharashtra doesn’t belong to anyone's father: Bihar's Tejaswi Yadav
Raj Thackeray, a seasoned practitioner of calls to target immigrant workers in Mumbai, must be punished for his latest hate speech, some parties in Maharashtra have demanded.
Yesterday, Mr Thackeray said three-wheelers with new permits will be set on fire because he alleged that nearly 70 per cent of the auto-rickshaws recently cleared to run on Mumbai's roads belong to non-Maharashtrians.
"If any such auto with a new permit is seen plying on the road, those sitting inside will be asked to come out and the auto will be set on fire," he said in a speech on the 10th anniversary of his party being founded.
Mr Thackeray, 47, formed his party in 2006 after an estrangement with his cousin, Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Shiv Sena, and has also habitually accused workers from states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh of snatching jobs from locals. Maharashtra is governed by the Shiv Sena in partnership with the BJP.
"I want to tell Mr Raj Thackeray that Maharashtra is not anyone's 'baap ji jageer' (father's property). Maharashtra, this country, is for everyone," retaliated Tejaswi Yadav, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, whose political career is owed to the huge clout of his father, Lalu Yadav.
A criminal case must be filed against Mr Thackeray urged the Congress and other opposition parties. "It is shocking that somebody makes a hate speech and he is allowed to go free," said Congress spokesperson Al-Nasser Zakaria in Mumbai.
In the last state election in 2014, Mr Thackeray's party emerged depleted with just one seat, as compared to 13 earlier.
Since 2008, Mr Thackeray has accumulated 56 cases of hate speech, along with nearly 50 more for other charges.