Sena, BJP accuse govt of 'delaying' Raj's arrest

The Shiv Sena-BJP combine is crying foul over the delay in the arrest of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and Samajwadi Party MP Abu Azmi, even as it accused the Maharashtra government of allowing the issue of the attack on north Indians to "drag on" for political gains.

The two said had the Congress-NCP government acted promptly and arrested Thackeray after the violent incidents in Mumbai on February 3, the violence would not have spread to other parts of the state.

BJP General Secretary Gopinath Munde said, "Once the crisis erupted, the Congress-NCP government ensured it dragged on so that Thackeray emerges as a champion of the 'sons of soil' and cuts into (Shiv) Sena's Marathi votebank in Mumbai and adjoining areas."

Expressing confidence that it would not affect the Shiv Sena votebank, Munde said: "Maharashtrians know the Sena has fought for their cause for the last four decades. So one or two incidents won't make any dent in their base in Mumbai."

Sena spokesperson and MLC Neelam Gorhe alleged the Congress and the NCP deliberately allowed the issue to snowball into a "national controversy".