The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday accused the Congress of deliberately going 'soft' on Raj Thackeray, who has made controversial statements against north Indians, because of its alliance with his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in civic bodies.
"It is a political conspiracy of the Congress," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said, claiming the Congress and MNS are in alliance in six corporations, including Mumbai and Pune.
"The Congress should reply why it is not snapping its ties with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena," he said. He claimed that the Congress and MNS were in alliance in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Amravati, Aurangabad and Mira-Bhainder corporations.
Without naming any party, he said the BJP opposed statements that 'outsiders' would not be allowed to work in Mumbai as it was against the spirit of the Constitution.
He, however, refused to comment specifically on ally Shiv Sena's warning that it will not tolerate workers 'brought from outside' for modernisation of the Mumbai airport.
"The Constitution gives right to every citizen to travel, settle and take up jobs in any part of the country and we believe in that," he said.
Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Monday criticised the Shiv Sena and MNS, saying comments against north Indians were 'unacceptable' as such remarks were against the concept of national unity. "On the other hand, there is a question of giving prominence to the sons of the soil and the local language," he said, but did not elaborate.