MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Thursday strongly criticised Union Minister Jitendra Singh for expressing gratitude that "IIT Bombay's name was not changed to IIT Mumbai, " calling the comment a sign of 'mental slavery' and demanding a police case be registered against him for showing disrespect to the city.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, through a hard-hitting editorial in its party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, claimed the statement was yet another attempt by the Centre to sever Mumbai's connection with Maharashtra, citing the recent attempt to place Chandigarh under central control as a precedent.
"All self-respecting political parties in Maharashtra need to take this matter seriously, " the editorial asserted.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena slammed the ruling 'MahaYuti' partners -- the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party -- for failing to condemn the Union Minister's preference for 'Bombay, ' suggesting they had become subservient to Delhi. It urged the Opposition and self-respecting citizens to not only condemn the remark but also launch a "Jodo Maro" (beat him with shoes) protest against the Minister.