Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday alleged that there was a conspiracy to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra, and said those plotting it were trying to weaken the city at all levels by subjecting it to constant attacks.
Talking to reporters here, he said his party will not let anyone harm Mumbai or turn it into a Union Territory.
"Be is my party or past chief ministers of Maharashtra belonging to the Congress - from Vasantdada Patil to Vasantrao Naik - all tried to protect Mumbai," the Rajya Sabha member said.
But attempts are on even today to make Mumbai a slave of capitalists, he alleged.
"Even in the past, the industrialists were from Gujarat and now it can be noticed very prominently because those who are ruling are from that state," Raut said in an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
"There are constant attacks on Mumbai to weaken it economically, geographically and socially. This is a conspiracy to break Mumbai from Maharashtra," he added.
Businesses and projects are being taken out of Mumbai, he said.
"This means that Mumbai should not be a part of Maharashtra in future, and even if it remains in the state, then it should be very weak," Raut said.
He claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) neither played any role in the Samyukta Maharashtra movement nor in the freedom struggle.
-With PTI Input
