Following is the open letter written by Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Monday’s Shiv Sena party organ Saamna:

Dear Sachin, 

You played like a Badshah in cricket…You won international fame, you earned huge amounts of money. Nobody grudges you for that, rather we are proud of you…You shine like a sun in the world of cricket..But you said in a press conference that ‘I am  proud of being a Maratha and a Maharashtrian, but first of all I am an Indian’…

Your straight drive saddened the minds of Marathis. ..because you left the pitch of cricket and came over to a political pitch, and there too you jumped your gun..On hearing you say that Mumbai belongs to everybody, the Marathi mind was saddened, there was no need for saying so…You are ‘run out’ on the Marathi mind’s pitch….

105 persons sacrificed their lives to get Mumbai, the same Mumbai cannot belong to every Tom, Dick and Harry’s father (kisi ke baap ki nahin)..and if any body tries to delink Mumbai from the rest of Maharashtra, then the Marathi manoos (people) will not hesitate to wring off his neck…

Sachin, remember one thing, when you shower fours and sixers from your bat, people applaud, but on the issue of justice and rights for Marathis, if any body uses his tongue as a bat and showers fours or sixers against the Marathis, the Marathi manoos will not bear it…So, whatever you earned on the cricket pitch, do not fritter away on a political pitch..I am giving you this friendly advice for your own sake..

Jai Hind, Jai Maharashtra 

Bal Thackeray

Shiv Sena Pramukh

The Indian Cricket Board on Monday reacted angrily to Bal Thackeray's criticism of Sachin, saying he should be brought to book as his attack was uncalled for. 

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." 

Thackeray criticised the statement saying, "There was no need to take a cheeky single by making these remarks. By making these remarks, you have got run-out from the "pitch" of Marathi psyche." 

"You were not even born when the 'Marathi Manoos' got Mumbai and 105 Marathi people sacrificed their lives to get Mumbai," Sena mouthpiece 'Samana' quoted Thackeray as saying. 

The BCCI reacted sharply to Thackeray's statement with its Finance Committee chairman and spokesperson Rajiv Shukla saying that the Shiv Sena chief was talking like Mohammad Ali Jinnah. 

"These kind of comments are completely uncalled for. Shiv Sena people have no business to talk like this. Tendulkar is a nationalist. He is for Maharashtra, he is for India. If somebody calls himself an Indian, is it a crime?" he fumed. 

"No Marathi will support Shiv Sena if they talk in these terms. Tendulkar has spoken like an Indian, like a nationalist. They don't understand this. In order to get some votes, they are trying to provoke feelings. These people should be brought to book," Shukla added. 

"Maharashtrians don't like such utterances. Only a handful of people will support this. Majority of them won't like this. They want to be called Indians first. 

Shukla retorted, "This is the same language that Mohammad Ali Jinnah spoke. Whole of India and all Maharashtrians, excluding a few Shiv Sena leaders and leaders of Raj Thackeray's party, are with Tendulkar." PTI

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RJD chief Lalu Prasad slammed Thackeray for criticising  Tendulkar for his 'Mumbai for all' remark, saying the Shiv Sena supremo had no moral authority to comment on a national hero.

"Sachin Tendulkar is a national hero. Who is Bal Thackeray to comment on him?" Prasad told reporters in Patna. Moreover, he said, it did not augur well for a person of Thackeray's age to make such statements.

Bihar Chief minister Nitish Kumar said, Sachin has further lifted "the image and prestige of the country" by saying so. 

"We acclaim Sachin for his remark which has lifted the image and prestige of India further," Kumar told reporters at "Janata Darbar" programme in Patna. "Sachin's statement has been made in true sportsman spirit. His talk of being Indian first will unite the entire country," he said. 

Kumar felt the indulgence of the Sena supremo or MNS leader Raj Thackeray might facilitate them obtain "political gain for the time being, but it will prove suicidal for them in long-term."