Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, on Monday, backed his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray on his stand against migrants, saying that Bihar’s chief secretary had no business interfering in the action taken by Mumbai police to arrest a person accused of violence at Azad Maidan. An editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna — which is widely believed to communicate Thackeray’s stand on issues - termed the Bihar official’s letter to the state government as ‘meddling in law and order issues’. Defending city police, the editorial said, “There was no need for the Bihar chief secretary to meddle in the affairs of Mumbai police and he should focus more on his state’s administration.”

The editorial also said that Nitish Kumar should have congratulated Mumbai police for their action as the arrest had prevented Qadir from fomenting more trouble in that state. Kumar had defended his chief secretary’s letter to the state government, stating that Mumbai police should have taken sanction from the local police before arresting the accused Abdul Qadir from Bihar.

Terming Qadir a traitor, the editorial said: “Even God cannot save this country if political boundaries are going to come in the way of arresting a terrorist from Bihar.”

The Sena chief’s comments come at a time when MNS leader Raj Thackeray is facing flak from several leaders over his remarks against Biharis. It came a day after Raj reiterated his stand and warned Hindi new channels against distorting his views.