‘We stand firmly with sentiments, identity of Marathi people’: Congress

Mumbai is the financial capital of the country, and people from south, north, and every part of India live happily here, said Ramesh Chennithala, Maharashtra Congress in-charge.

 

“There is no issue of linguistic or regional conflict. However, in Maharashtra, we stand firmly with the sentiments and identity of the Marathi people,” he said.

 

Chennithala was speaking to the media in Delhi regarding the ongoing Marathi-Hindi controversy and the contentious remarks made by Jharkhand’s BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. On Monday, Dubey had said that people in Maharashtra are “surviving on their money” and those targeting non-Marathi speakers in the state would be thrashed.

 

When asked about Raj and Uddhav Thackeray coming together, Chennithala clarified, “No discussion has taken place regarding Raj Thackeray’s entry into the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).”

 

Speaking on election irregularities, Chennithala said, “The real question is how 75 lakh votes increased in the Maharashtra Assembly election, a question that Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has raised.

 

“The Election Commission is working in favour of the BJP and has secured their win through fraudulent practices. The same thing is now happening in Bihar. The issue of 2 crore voters in Bihar has arisen because of the Commission’s obstinate stance just to benefit the BJP,” he added.

 

“There must be transparency in elections, but the role of the Commission itself is questionable. We will approach the court on this issue.”

 

Earlier today, during a protest march to the Election Commission's office in Patna, Rahul Gandhi brought up the issue of special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar again, alleging that the Maharashtra assembly polls last year were "rigged" to favour the BJP and added that the Narendra Modi government wants to repeat it in the Bihar polls later this year.

India