Maha CM commits protection to North Indians

New Delhi, Feb 11 (UNI) Admitting that MNS chief Raj Thackeray's inflammatory comments against North Indians had created ''communal disharmony'' in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today said all those responsible for it would be dealt with ''seriously''.

''Stern action will be taken against the individuals or group of persons indulging in violence, damaging the social fabric of the state...no body will be allowed to take the law into his or her own hands,'' Mr Deshmukh said in a statement here.

Accepting that people from other states had also paid a pivotal role in the development of Maharashtra, the Chief Minister said his government was commited to protecting and securing the rights of all the people residing in the state.

''Every citizen of the country has the fight to move freely throughout the country, and reside in any part of the territory of India. Any body objecting to this right will not be spared. The guilty will be punished since no body is above the law.'' The Maharashtra government has booked both Raj Thackeray and Samajwadi Party leader Abu Azmi on the charges of inciting violence in Mumbai.

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