Sanjay Dina

In a fresh row, the Shiv Sena-UBT’s Mumbai North East Lok Sabha candidate Sanjay Dina Patil today claimed that a Gujarat-dominated housing complex has reportedly barred Marathi political activists from campaigning on their premises.

The purported incident occurred late on May 5 when Patil, along with his supporters, had gone to the Samarpan Housing Society, in Ghatkopar West suburb, to distribute poll campaign pamphlets and publicity material.

“However, we were told by some society members that they would not allow canvassing in Marathi and we were prevented from entering... They claimed that they were not permitting Marathis to campaign inside their complex and asked us to leave,” Patil later told media.

SS-UBT local unit chief Pradeep Mandavkar said that the society members “remained adamant even after they were informed that we had the relevant permission as the election rules”.

Reacting strongly, SS-UBT MP Sanjay Raut demanded to know the response of “those people who claim their party is the real Shiv Sena”, and said his party will overcome the challenge, as videos of the incident went viral on social media.

Hitting back at Raut, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Nitesh Rane said that if anybody attempts to foment a Gujarati-Marathi linguistic controversy, then there could be repercussions in election times.

(Source: IANS)

- Edited for style