Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Sunday, 22 November, said that the party will welcome Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision to merge India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, to make a single country, reported news agency ANI.
“The way Devendra ji has said that time will come Karachi will be the part of India. We have been saying that India, Pakistan and Bangladesh should be merged. If the Berlin wall can be demolished then why not India, Pakistan and Bangladesh can come together? If BJP wishes to merge these three countries and make a single country, we will welcome it definitely.”ANI quoted Nawab Malik as saying
The comments come after BJP leader and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, 21 November, said that Pakistan’s Karachi will be a part of India one day.
“We believe in ‘akhand Bharat,” said Fadnavis, reported ANI.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut took a jibe at Fadnavis’s Karachi comment and said that the party should first work on bringing back Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) and then talk about Karachi.
“If Karachi comes to India, we will welcome it. First, bring the Kashmir that is occupied by Pakistan. We will go to Karachi later,” ANI quoted Raut as saying.
Fadnavis’s remark came over the controversy that emerged last week after Shiv Sena leader Nitin Nandgaonka in a video could be seen telling the owner Mumbai snack shop Karachi Sweets to change the name of his shop to “something in Marathi”.
“I hate the name Karachi. The city in Pakistan is a hub of terrorists,” the Sena leader was heard saying on the video, reported Scroll.
Meanwhile, Malik said that the NCP wants to contest the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections along with Shiv Sena and the Congress.
“It is still 15 months left for the BMC election. Every party has the right to work for their party, and every party is doing so. We are also strengthening our party. We would want that those who are running the government all three parties should contest polls together,” ANI quoted Malik as saying.
(With inputs from ANI and Scroll)
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