Mumbai: Writer and novelist Shobhaa De’s “satirical” tweet on Wednesday stirred up an hornet’s nest with political parties accusing her of being anti-Maharashtra.
Reacting to Telangana being carved out of Andhra Pradesh, De had tweeted, “Maharashtra and Mumbai??? Why not? Mumbai has always fancied itself as an independent entity, anyway. This game has countless possibilities (sic).”
However, later, De clarified that she did not “endorse” separating Mumbai from Maharashtra. “It’s a completely misconstrued statement by those who don’t know English satire,” she told a news channel.
De’s clarification did not satisfy politicians in Maharashtra. While the Shiv Sena, BJP and the NCP condemned the tweet, MNS leader Raj Thackeray went one step ahead and said, “Separating Mumbai from Maharashtra is not as easy as getting a divorce.”
Sanjay Raut, Sena MP and editor of party’s mouthpiece Saamana, demanded that the police book De for the tweet. As the controversy grew, De said that the politicians were making an “issue out of a non-issue”.
