By IANS,
Mumbai : After railing against him umpteen times in the recent past, Shiv Sena mouthpiece Samana Sunday came out in support of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for taking cudgels on behalf of the Maharashtrians.
Samana editor and Shiv Sena’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut wrote in his weekly column “Rok-thok” in the newspaper’s Sunday supplement that there was nothing wrong in Raj Thackeray speaking out in defence of the Marathi man’s interests and against those seeking to trample upon them.
“Raj could not get along with Shiv Sena and chose a different path; he has taken up the issue of employment to Marathi people. Why make a fuss about it? If any politician raises the issue, it need not upset anybody, not even Shiv Sena,” he wrote, adding that he (Raj) was only echoing the views of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.
“Balasaheb raised the issue 40 years ago and the ambers he ignited are still burning. Raj, who grew up in Shiv Sena, is now using the issue for his political ends. No one forgives a son who deserts his mother, but the pertinent issue here is that of Marathi interests which more and more people should take up,” Raut said.
Asserting that the issue of jobs for people of Maharashtra will remain with Shiv Sena no matter how many people raise it, Raut said it would be wrong to construe that Shiv sena has split because Raj set up his own outfit.
The Samana editor also took strong exception to the continued use of the old name of the state capital, Bombay, in some quarters even after it was changed to Mumbai over a decade ago and exhorted the Marathi-loving people to bust such “Bombay islands” in Mumbai.
Referring to a newspaper supplement’s title, Raut said the use of word “Bombay” was illegal as the city’s name had been changed to Mumbai by an act of parliament.
Raising similar poser about the Bombay High Court, Raut expected the judicial institution to uphold the law.
The Samana editor also hit out at non-Marathi leaders in the state criticising Marathi leaders, saying they should be slapped in the same fashion as (cricketer) S. Srisanth was slapped by Harbhajan Singh last month.
“(Samajwadi Party leader) Abu Azmi recently talked disparagingly about (Nationalist Congress Party leader) Sharad Pawar and Sanjay Nirupam (who deserted Shiv Sena to join the Congress some years ago) talked ill of Shiv Sena leader Manohar Joshi. How dared they?” he asked.