Click to play videoMumbai: The outsider vs the sons of the soil debate continues in Mumbai. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan has spoken for the first time on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray's charge that he has done precious little for Mumbai.
Bachchan dismissed allegations by Thackeray that he had done more for Uttar Pradesh his home state than for Mumbai - the city of his residence.
Referring to Raj's charges, Bachchan said, "Random charges are random. They do not deserve the kind of attention you wish me to give them. This is a free country and every individual enjoys the liberty of free speech."
It is a statement that could invite a rebuttal, since Bachchan's comments come on the eve of Raj's Thackeray's rally to mark Shivaji Jayanti.
After a two-month long enforced silence due to the gag order, Thackeray will address his first public rally on Monday.
But will Shivaji Park, known to be the hotbed of political controversies, become the platform for Raj to re-ignite the local versus outsider debate once again?
And in a reminder that the issue hasn't died down just yet, late on Saturday a group of North Indians in Mumbai alleged they were beaten up by MNS activists while returning from Holi celebrations.
The victims claim a group of 10 men were shouting slogans in favour of MNS while beating them up.
"They asked us where we are from and when we said Bihar, they abused us and then they beat us with hockey sticks and lathis and sariyas (iron rods)," Surendra Jagdsih Jha, one of the victims, said.
It's one political thriller to watch out and find who has the last laugh.
(With inputs from Deborah Grey)
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