Mumbai, June 12: Defending the 'Mee Mumbaikar' campaign, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray today said certain political parties were trying to distort the campaign of his party for vested interests. The campaign, Uddhav said, was not against any section of society or the state but was conceptualised to include everyone who felt that he belonged to the city irrespective of their caste, creed and origin.

Uddhav was speaking at the inaugural function of an exhibition 'On the path of progress' depicting the history of Indian Railways and civil aviation.

"Certain parties, however, had twisted the campaign to give it a political colour. Sena was only against those who had spread their families to the streets and were occupying the precious areas in public places," he said.

The Sena leader said his party had built several flyovers in the city during its rule in Maharashtra. However, many people who had recently migrated were staying underneath these flyovers. "How long could Mumbai sacrifice its infrastructure and continue to serve the needs of the constant influx?," he asked the audience.

Those who were pointing fingers at the Sena should go back to the 1992 riots period as it was this party which had rushed to the help of the victims, Uddhav said. The Sena, he said, had never pondered over the origin, caste or creed of those affected in the riots.

'Mee Mumbaikar campaign' would incorporate several new facets including self discipline in the coming days, he added.

Bureau Report