Sena worker asks 'Karachi Sweets' to change its name

A Shiv Sena worker has demanded that the owner of a sweet shop in Mumbai should drop 'Karachi' from the name, because it is a Pakistani city.

The Sena, the ruling party in Maharashtra, however, distanced itself from the demand.

In a video clip shared on Facebook, local Sena worker Nitin Nandgaonkar was seen asking the owner of 'Karachi Sweets' in suburban Bandra to rename it instead after his father or grandfather.

"Don't use the name Karachi in Mumbai. We have problem with the name Karachi. Our jawan (died) on Bhai Dooj. Pakistan is a country of terrorists," he said.

Nandgaonkar further told the owner that he will give him time to rename the shop. In his post on Facebook he added that the word Karachi should be dropped from all signboards in 15 days.

But Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut later tweeted that Karachi Bakeries and Karachi Sweet Shops are operating in Mumbai for the last 60 years, and "they have nothing to do with Pakistan".

"It makes no sense to ask for changing their names now. Demand for changing their name is not Shiv Sena's official stance," the Rajya Sabha member said.

The Aam Aadmi Party in a statement hit out at the Shiv Sena over its worker "threatening" a shop owner, and asked the police to take notice of the incident, saying it was the last thing the city needs during a pandemic.