Former Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court Rama Jois on Tuesday termed Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray's criticism against cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar for his "Mumbai for All" remark as a "dangerous trend" which can be ignored only at peril to the nation.
Tendulkar was "right" when he said Mumbai belonged to the entire nation and "though he is a Maharashtrian, he is an Indian first," Jois, former governor of Bihar and a Rajya Sabha member, said in a statement in Bangalore.
By taking exception to Sachin's remark, Thackeray "proves growing of weeds of linguistic chauvinism", he charged.
Jois, quoting the words of a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in 1984, said "we find that today integrity of the nation is threatened by divisive forces of regionalism, linguism and communalism. And regional, linguistic and communal loyalties are gaining ascendancy in national life and seeking to tear apart and destroy national integrity".
These words of warning, he said, should guide us to remove the "weeds of linguistic chauvinism by feeling of intense patriotism, fraternity and integrity of the nation, subordinating regional and linguistic feelings".
Earlier, referring to the preamble of the Constitution and the Vishnu Puranas, Jois said "it is this spirit of oneness that united the entire nation and enabled us to fight against and get rid of slavery". PTI
