Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut responded to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis’s statement that Karachi will be part of India one day and said that we should focus on taking back parts of Kashmir that are occupied by Pakistan before thinking of Karachi.
“First, bring the Kashmir which is occupied by Pakistan. We will go to Karachi later, ”Sanjay Raut told the ANI news agency.
Read also: ‘Karachi will be part of India one day’: Fadnavis in Bandra sweet shop row
The former chief minister of Maharashtra had said that he believes in ‘akhand bharat’ and that Karachi will be part of India one day. He was responding to a controversy that erupted after a video of a Shiv Sena leader allegedly asking the owner of a Karachi candy store in Bandra West to remove the word ‘Karachi’ from his store names went viral.
“You have to, we are giving you time. Change ‘Karachi’ to something in Marathi, ”Sena leader Nitin Nandgaokar is seen saying in the video, according to ANI.
After Nandgaokar’s video went viral, Raut clarified that the demand to change the name of the store is not the official position of the party. “Karachi bakery and karachi sweets have been in Bombay for the last 60 years. They have nothing to do with Pakistan. There is no point asking for their names to be changed now. The demand to change his name is not Shivsena’s official position, ”he had tweeted.
On Sunday, Maharashtra Cabinet Minister and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik said his party will welcome the move if BJP creates a country by merging India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
“The way Devendra ji has said that the time will come, Karachi will be part of India. We have been saying that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should merge. If the Berlin Wall can be demolished, why can’t India, Pakistan and Bangladesh unite? If BJP wants to merge these three countries and make one country, we will definitely welcome it, ”Malik told ANI, when asked to comment on Fadnavis’s comment on Karachi.
(with ANI inputs)
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