The Tamil Nadu BJP leader K Annamalai is right in the middle of this political rhetoric in Mumbai because the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections have become more and more about identity as to who is a part of the city and who is an outsider into Mumbai the financial capital of India.
This controversy started when Annamalai in speaking to a crowd at Dharavi referred to Mumbai as an international city and not a city of Maharashtra. His statements led to a strong response among the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray who accused BJP of insulting Mumbai and Maharashtra. In an interview with the media on Monday, Thackeray indicated that what Annamalai is saying is that of a party that is just out to offend and rob the state.
Going after Annamalai on a personal level, Aaditya Thackeray said that BJP leader did not make an impression in his state. The BJP is a zero face and its face is Annamalai. He was not even able to win in Tamil Nadu, he lost his deposit, Thackeray said, according to the reports of the news agencies. He also satirised previous speculations of Annamalai as a future face of prime minister by saying that Tamil Nadu had already shown that BJP was not welcome there.
Aaditya Thackeray, the son of Uddhav Thackeray and the nephew of the late Raj, who joined hands to fight the high-stakes Mumbai civic polls together after a gap of 2 decades, also hurled praise at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin. He claimed that Stalin has given attention to an accelerated growth in Tamil Nadu as compared to BJP which he claimed is involved in divisive politics and personal assaults.
In reaction to the criticism, Annamalai defended his words and denied claims that he was trying to weaken the pride of the Marathi. The former IPS officer also contended that the discovery of the global status of Mumbai does not take away the role of Maharashtrians. When I say that freedom fighter K Kamaraj is one of the greatest leaders in India, is this not so much the less because he is a Tamil? In the same manner, describing Mumbai as a world-class city does not imply that the city was not built by Maharashtrians, Annamalai said, and his comments were being used against him to bolster politics.
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