The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Saturday, October 19, 2002, Chandigarh, India

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Sena chief not to seek bail

A Shiv Sena activist dressed as a scarecrow entertains party workers during a protest in Mumbai on Friday. Hundreds of Shiv Sena activists marched to protest against a police complaint filed against their leader Bal Thackeray. — Reuters photo

Mumbai, October 18
Fully standing by his Dasehra rally speech containing anti-Muslim remarks, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray said today that he would not seek anticipatory bail in the criminal case registered against him and blamed Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and not his bete noire Chhagan Bhujbal for the decision to proceed against him.

An unfazed Thackeray told a press conference that he had not made any objectionable statement by issuing a clarion call for the formation of suicide squads to fight terrorism nor did he speak against Indian Muslims.

“If they were objectionable, I would never have uttered those words. I fully stand by my statement. It is Mr Deshmukh and not Mr Bhujbal who is responsible for initiating action against me”, the Sena supremo said while giving a clean chit to his now fierce rival, Mr Bhujbal, Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

Mr Thackeray said he had not sought anticipatory bail last time and he would not apply for one this time as well. He thanked the media for giving his statement wide publicity.

The state government yesterday filed a case against Mr Thackeray for his alleged inflammatory speech during the October 15 rally, in which he had asked Hindus to form suicide squads to fight terrorism and asked pro-Pakistan and Bangladesh Muslims to be thrown out of the country.

Clarifying that his statement was not against minorities but against those who were pro-Pakistan and terrorists, he said, “I have always accepted Muslims here as citizens of India but am against those who are pro-Pakistan”.

“I was only speaking against terrorism”, he said, adding sarcastically that the government would have also charged Mahatma Gandhi for his “do-or-die” call, had it been in power at that moment in history.

When queried if violence was the only answer to all problems, he quipped, “Violence is the answer. If I am wrong, show me another way”.

Reacting to Sena leader and Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi’s statement that the party’s ministers would resign from the NDA government if action was initiated against Mr Thackeray, the Sena supremo said Mr Joshi was a senior leader of the party and his views represented the party policy.

“I have taken certain decisions, but I will not reveal them now”, he said, refusing to reply to any other questions probing the issue.

Coming down heavily on the NDA government for “soft-pedalling” the issue of terrorism, he differentiated between Mr Vajpayee the Prime Minister and the BJP leader who had built up an entire party through his oratory skills.

Taking a dig at the NDA government, he said despite the fact that there were numerous foreign tours and seminars, nothing substantial was being done about terrorism. PTI