Shobhaa De’s comment frivolous, Maharashtra will stay united: CM

Mangalore Today/CNN-IBN

Mumbai, August 1: Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday termed Mumbai-based writer Shobhaa De’s tweet advocating separate statehood for Mumbai as "frivolous". "Maharashtra will remain united. Neither Mumbai nor Vidarbha will be separated from Maharashtra," Chavan said.

Meanwhile, the Mumbai-based writer continued to bear the brunt of Shiv Sena’s ire as activists protested outside her house in Mumbai. The writer, in one of her tweets, on Wednesday said, "Maharashtra and Mumbai??? Why not? Mumbai has always fancied itself as an independent entity, anyway. This game has countless possibilities."

 

"What Shobhaa De has said is wrong. Here we are talking about a united Maharashtra and on the other hand she is talking about dividing it. She must apologise," said a protester. "She is wrong and she will have to apologise," one of the protesters said.

Shobhaa De’s tweet came a day after the government approved bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh to form separate state Telangana.

The Shiv Sena was the first to hit out at the writer saying a case should be filed against her. "Who is Shobhaa De? Shobhaa De belongs to the Page 3 culture of Mumbai. She has no understanding of the sentiments of the people of Maharashtra," Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said.

MNS chief Raj Thackeray also criticised the tweet saying separating Mumbai from Maharashtra was not quite easy as getting a divorce.

However, speaking to CNN-IBN, Shobhaa De brushed aside the controversy saying people had misunderstood her tweet. "I am absolutely astonished by this reaction and if you want to take on someone, take them on on what the content of that tweet is and when you descend to make personal comments, it does not reflect on me, it reflects on the person making them. So, I am going to ignore it," she said.

When asked if she would apologise, the author said, "There is no question of an apology for a tweet that is harmless, that is innocent. At no point have I suggested that Mumbai should be separated from Maharashtra."

"In a democracy, we have a right to express ourselves. No hurt or harm was meant to the state to which I belong," she added.