SATISH NANDGAONKAR
Mumbai, Sept. 30: Bal Thackeray may have just handed his rivals the perfect excuse to call him Jinnah’s uncle.
An editorial purportedly written by the Shiv Sena boss in party mouthpiece Saamna appeared to brand his estranged nephew Raj Thackeray as the new “Mohammed Ali Jinnah”.
The sobriquet — at a time the J-word has become a calling card for controversy — betrays Sena concerns that Raj’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena would split Marathi votes in the October 13 elections and help the Congress-NCP alliance return to power for a third consecutive term.
“The British incited Jinnah and forced him to divide India. Now a new Jinnah at home is dividing Marathi people,” the editorial published this morning said.
The joint Sena-BJP manifesto the allies released on Sunday had made the same point, too, asking people not to waste their precious votes on the MNS as “such a division” would help the ruling Congress-NCP return to power.
The editorial also attacked the Congress for encouraging Raj, a charge chief minister Ashok Chavan denied yesterday. “… their politics is worse than that of the Muslim League. The League at least openly demanded Pakistan by dividing India. The Congress is also using ‘this Jinnah’ to divide Marathi people,” the editorial said, alluding to Raj whom the Sena has dubbed a “spoiler”.
Hours later, Saamna executive editor and senior leader Sanjay Raut repeated the Jinnah remark at a campaign speech. “Raj divided Marathi votes in the Lok Sabha elections, and he is still doing the same. That’s why we call him Jinnah,” Raut said.
Raj’s three-year-old MNS had turned in an impressive performance in the May elections. Although it contested just 12 of the 48 seats, MNS candidates polled over a lakh votes in nine of them, including all six in Mumbai.
The division of votes between the MNS and the Sena helped the Congress sweep all the six seats in Mumbai, one more than its 2004 tally in the city. For the coming state polls, the MNS has fielded candidates in 144 of the 288 seats.
Raj hasn’t yet reacted to the editorial, but MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar said the “childish criticism” showed that the ground was “slipping” from under the Sena’s feet.
“It is well known that Saamna editorials are written on orders of (Thackeray’s son) Uddhav Thackeray. The editorials have no connection with Balasaheb,” Parkar added.
But the article has certainly served on a platter the perfect campaign punch to Congress and NCP slogan writers.
It’s another matter whether anyone would dare to call Bal Thackeray “Jinnah’s uncle”.
The Imbecile's tantrum has now been gone long enough.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav)is accusing the Imbecile of dividing the Marathi vote.
What he forgets in that he is doing exactly what his uncle, Bal, the original Imbecile did many years ago.
Imbecile 2 has now attacked Karan Johar for calling Mumbai as Bombay. A very big sin if there was one.
Karan Johar has sheepishly with tail between legs gone and apologised for committing such a mortal sin.
This is exactly what the first lady of cinema , Jaya Bhaduri(after all she is Amitabh Bacchan wife) did earlier.
One threat from the imbecile has the whole film industry running helter skelter for demy papers to draft apology letters.
If this type of threat and his earlier tantrums of beating up examinees from Bihar, had been caried our in some other state, the Congress would have used different provisions in the IPC to put the imbecile behind bars. But it serves their purpose. By strengthening the imbeciles reach it is dividing the Marathi vote bank.
The Congress can come to power.
However, the imbecile is forgetting a thing or two.
First: The films made in Bombay (I don't have Karan's hang-up) are viewed all over India. Where would Bombay exhibit the Hindi films if the Hindi speaking states decided to take counter-action and banned those films in their states?
Bombay is not indespensable for the Hindi films.
Narendra Modi is waiting on the wings. If things pan out as he desires, he will move the whole film industry, lock stock and barrel to Gujarat.
He had done it earlier with Tata's Nano.
He has the guts to do it again.
Maharashtra - watch out.
No comments:
Post a Comment