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- By Parinda News Bureau, March 20, 2006, 12:35 IST
Mumbai: Raj Thackeray’s much waited party is on and the cloak over the policy of the newly formed party has been removed. There was a déjà vu quality to the entire show.
It reminded people of another show on the same ground by a man, who Raj has an uncanny resemblance to, forty years ago. His uncle Bal Thackeray.
Revealing a please-all agenda of his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, president Raj Thackeray left no room for doubt: He is keen on accommodating all sections of the society under his umbrella party — diverse religious groups, 65 lakh commuters of Mumbai, poor farmers and jobless youth.
Affixing the party agenda on the plank of Maharashtra, Raj, while addressing a mammoth public rally on Sunday evening, announced that NMS would vehementiy oppose anyone acting against the interest and pride of Maharashtra.
Raj said his party would contest all elections in the state, including the Brihan-mumbai Municipal Corporation elections, slated next year.
"We will not allow anyone to sell even a single reserved plot, meant for public amenities, in Mumbai," Raj said amid applause from over 1.5 lakh people gathered at the historic ground, which also saw the birth of Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party in 1999.
Clarifying his position since the MNS party flag colours were being seen to represent Dalits, Hindus and Muslims, Raj said if that is the case, so be it. "If Hindutva is nationalism, then I am all for that nationalism," he declared.
Stating that it was sheer lunacy to abhor good Muslims because of the misdeeds of a fringe group, Raj denounced the cartoons on Prophet Muhammad in a foreign daily, which has led to large-scale riots around the world.
"To make a caricature, you need to have a picture of that person. When there is no picture of the Prophet available, how can anyone draw his cartoon," Raj, himself a cartoonist, said.
He, however, added in the same breath that Muslims ought to have protested against the derogatory portrayal of Bharat Mata and Saraswati by M F Husain.
Raj flayed Dalit leaders like Ramdas Athavale, R S Gavai and Prakash Ambedkar, asserting that they had misled their followers. He also said renaming of places and monuments would have no place in his party's ideology. "Did renaming of the Marathwada University improve the standard of education?
Did the renaming of Victoria Terminus after Shivaji improve its amenities," he asked. Though broadening the canvas of his party, Raj reiterated his opposition to the influx of migrants from North India. He also justified the attack on the railway examinees at Kalyan. The locals must get priority in jobs, he insisted.
Raj said he was working on a blueprint of die state for facilitating its all-round development. "My dream is that Maharashtra should develop and I have a new vision for the same."
His speech was bereft of any reference to his cousin and Sena Executive President Uddhav Thackeray. However, there were discreet references to Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Prabodhankar Keshav Thackeray.
Raj began his speech on an emotional note, recalling the birth of Shiv Sena when his grand father Prabodhankar and uncle Balasaheb took the stage, "I have been coming to his ground with Balasaheb since I was a kid. Never did it occur to me that one day I would have to leave that party," said Raj, who left Shiv Sena on December 18 last year following differences with his cousin. "When I left Sena and announced that I would be launching a new political party, people ridiculed me, saying that it was not an easy job to form a party. Today, their query is answered," Raj said waving at his supporters.
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