(Lead)

New Delhi, April 4 (IANS) Shiv Sena dissidents from northern India who will launch a new political party this month have threatened Raj and Uddhav Thackeray with counter-violence over attacks on Hindi speakers in Maharashtra. “We have decided to form a new party, the Rashtrawadi Shiv Sena. Bal Thackeray’s Shiv Sena is only for Maharashtrians. But we want to take the whole nation with us,” said Jai Bhagwan Goyal, former head of the north India unit of Shiv Sena.

“If Raj ever comes to Delhi we will break his legs. I have told Bal Thackeray that if the violence occurs again, the Shiv Sena MPs visiting Delhi may have to face the music,” said Goyal, venting his anger at Raj Thackeray, founder of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).

Goyal and state chiefs of the Shiv Sena from five north Indian states resigned from the party in March to in protest against Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav Thackeray’s diatribe against north Indians living in Maharashtra.

Violence erupted when Bal Thackeray’s estranged nephew Raj - head of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) - hit out at north Indians, sparking violence in which several people were injured.

Uddhav joined the bandwagon by threatening to pack off north Indians arriving at the Mumbai airport. Later, Bal Thackeray attacked the celebration of Chhat, a festival celebrated in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh, in Maharashtra.

Goyal joined the Shiv Sena in 1988. He said his 20-year stint with the Sena was very eventful. But he feels the ‘golden period’ of the Shiv Sena is over.

“Bal Thackeray is 83 years old. He does not have much say in the party. His son Uddhav is running the organisation… Moreover, both father and son are confined to Maharashtra. Our party will cater to rashtrawad (nationalism), patriotism and Hindutva,” Goyal said.

Asked about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Goyal said: “When the violence against north Indians erupted in Maharasthra, the BJP did nothing. But we still have an open mind on interacting with the Sangh Parivar.”

Goyal claims he has the support of 20 Shiv Sena leaders of Bihar, Jharkhand, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.