Shiv Sena v/s Sachin

In an interaction with the media on completing 20 years in international cricket, Tendulkar had said, "I am a Maharashtrian and I am extremely proud of that. But I am an Indian first. And Mumbai belongs to all Indians." Is there any flaw in that sentence?? Is’nt every citizen of India staying at any of the states, a Indian first…?!!

Sachin didn’t show disrespect to Maharashtra,he said he’s extremely “proud” of being a Marathi, then what made Bal Thackery to rebuke?? Just because Sachin said that he was an Indian first!! Regionality comes after nationality. First we are Indians and then Marathi or Gujarati or Punjabi,etc. Is it fair on the part of a political leader in India to criticize such a great cricketer( on these grounds?  The master-blaster is playing for India,and out of his sportsmanship quality what he said,he’s been retaliated by Thackery .Why does the Shiv Sena fail to understand that Maharashtra is a part of India? No other political leader from any of the states boasts of their state as Thackery. Its simply because they are trying to provoke feelings to get some votes.But only a handful of people will support Thackery and the majority would not. Given a choice Maharashtrians will take Sachin over him any day.

What Sachin has done for this country will leave an indelible mark in the nation’s history.His achievements have brought laurels to India& we are proud of this.But what has Thackery done in comparison to this? Creating such irrelevant issues giving way to a nation-wide uproar just to gain votes from people (But there was a time when people admired his stand for Hinduism). This time the Sena and the Supremo have just gone too far - its Sachin Tendulkar we’re talking about. This is the man who has a special place and each Indian’s heart. Whole of India and all Maharashtrians, excluding a few Shiv Sena leaders and leaders of Thackeray's party are with Tendulkar because people understand that calling oneself an Indian is not a crime!!