Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Tuesday threatened that his party is prepared to give a 'befitting reply' to those challenging the saffron party's on-going stir to secure reservation of jobs for local youth.

"Shiv Sainiks are prepared for a tit-for-tat policy. Do not compel us to adopt it, that will cost you dearly," Thackeray said in the party's newspaper Saamna in Mumbai.

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Thackeray's hard-hitting response came after Samajwadi Party leaders, during a rally in the metropolis on Sunday, threatened to 'break the hand' that is raised against people from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

The SP rally, addressed by Amar Singh and Abu Asim Azmi, was called in reaction to the Shiv Sena's stir against north Indians over the issue of job reservation.

The Sena chief challenged SP leaders to hold a similar rally in Assam, where Biharis have been killed over the same issue.

Stating that the Sena's agitation is confined to jobs for sons-of-the soil, the Sena patriarch clarified that it is not against 'UPites' or 'Biharis' residing in Mumbai.

"The right to jobs has been provided by the Constitution," he reasoned. Mumbai has already accepted people from other states residing in the metropolis prior to 1995, Thackeray said adding those from other regions should not fall prey to 'such instigators'.

"We have already held talks with people from north-Indian states and we can discuss the matter again if needed," he said.