The DNA reports:
The film fraternity on Monday condemned Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray’s diatribe against Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan and said such attempts would be detrimental not only for Maharashtra but also for the country as a whole.
Meanwhile Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday said
stern action would be taken against the guilty because the violence should not spread. “There will be full protection for those living in Mumbai.”
Not to be left behind Samajwadi party general secretary Amar Singh
adopted a two-pronged offensive against MNS chief Raj Thackeray. Singh first lodged an FIR against Thackeray in the wee hours on Monday accusing him of encouraging attacks on North Indians.? Later, he petitioned the Election Commission in Delhi demanding that MNS be de-recognised and barred from contesting elections since its leader “does not believe in Indian Constitution”.
All of this follows Raj Thackeray calling the Chhat festival a ‘drama’, and criticizing Big B
”Amitabh Bachchan chose to contest elections from Uttar Pradesh instead of Mumbai. If a person of such stature who is revered in Mumbai can feel patriotic about his own state, can’t Raj Thackeray feel the same?”
With the Tiger ageing and the cub no match it is clear that Raj Thackeray is playing to the gallery to become Thackeray’s Thackeray.
The way to deal with the likes of Raj Thackeray is to not disenfranchise them but to discredit their cause.
For example here is Raj Thackeray in 1999 courting M.F. Hussain and Amitabh Bacchan to celebrate his cartoon exhibition.
Or this story from 2002 about the close family ties between the Thackerays and Amitabh Bacchan?
Or this 2005 book release function organized by Raj Thackeray.
Or this 2004 exclusive event with Bacchan for J&K kids under Raj Thackeray’s auspices.
Offstumped Bottomline: We always knew he had the looks but with this xenophobia we can now be convinced Raj is Thackeray’s Thackeray. The media and the political establishment are making a big mistake in dealing with Raj Thackeray’s politically motivated parochialism. By seeking to disenfranchise and criminalize his utterances they are framing the public debate in exactly the terms Raj Thackeray wants it. For the more he is villified and criminalized the greater the hero he becomes with his rabble-rousing to those who are looking for an outlet to vent their frustrations.
Filed under: Uncategorized
[...] http://offstumped.nationalinterest.in/2008/02/04/thackerays-thackeray/#post-comments [...]
IDIOT Raj leave the globa amabasdor Mr Bachchan alone.He is too too big for you.
Leave BIG B alone you Raj the villian
Raj Thackeray espousing Marathi manoos is the best thing that can happen to Maharashtra. Raj seems to have chosen the Marathi card ahead of the Hindu card. In any state its necessary to have these fringe outfits which call everyone else as outsiders! This will help the mainstream parties to stay away from such nonsense.
MNS hijacking the Marathi Card would force Shiv Sena to adopt the Hindu card. And we ofcourse know that Shiv Sena will die a slow death and give way to BJP if it plays just the Hindu card. On the whole a very good development for BJP and Maharashtra.
Personally, I find Amitabh Bachchan’s role in UP(regional) politics as petty as Raj Thackeray’s diatribe against him. With the kind of status Bachchan enjoys around the country, he should be working on the national and even global level. BUT, what he does is his own decision and does not come close to the parochialism of Raj Thackeray.
Contrast Raj Thackeray’s statement to another leader, Narendra Modi, who said a few days back:
Every Indian has a right on Gujarat, no matter where they were born. Gujarat has the responsibility to change the fate of India.
I also feel Raj Thackeray’s statement is no different from PM’s statement when he said that minorities have first right to the resources of the country.
Hi Yossarin! I agree with you this man has gone nuts, but there seems to be a clear agenda against this madness. Media has got an another opportunity to berate those fighting against ‘Political Correctness’- read their brand of ‘secularism’.
I ask many of these media men, what do they refer to as when they call Sharad pawar as a ‘Martha Strong Man’?
I ask all those who throw ‘iftaar parties’ during RamDaan, wearing skull caps (BJP too), what message do they send?
Right or wrong, democracy is all about ‘identity’ politics. Democracy is about creating, maintaining and pampering the constituency… correct me if I am wrong…we have a leader who see self as ‘Dalit leader’, some one else projects self as a mesaih for Muslims, some talk about telgu pride, some gujarati pride… so on and forth.
And if Raj fashions himself as a spokesperson or champion for ‘Maratha Mannoos’, is he not following the same what others do?
Nevertheless, I condemn Raj for what he uttered.
India has now too many politicians, of all hues. Sadly not even one ‘States Man’.
These are the ‘perils’ of ‘democracy’! I wonder!
PI
I FOR ONE, AGREE WITH RAJ..he is right when he says that BIG B should think of maharashtra before becoming BRAND AMBASSADOR of UP..BIG B should have not limited his BIGNESS for UP only..IT would have been appropriate to his stature if he had been called Brand Ambassador of INDIA…,ACTUALLY, we INDIANS,have tendency to forget the land where we prosper..and instead, we have great LAGAAV for the land where we or our forefathers were born/brought up…This tendency of INDIANS,can be guaged in the problem ridden KENYA, EAST AFRICA, MALASIYA, UK,FIJI,USA,…WE as a race, fail to get ROOTED with the soil of the country/state/region where we work for our living..WE are living in glass house,and before throwing stones at anyone, we should be carefull…
yo!!-o !
atleast somewhere we agree,
http://intellibriefs.blogspot.com/2008/02/raj-is-thackerays-thackeray.html
[...] it should be rather straightforward to arrest Mr Thackeray for going beyond mere offence. [See Offstumped’s [...]
Yossarin,
The threat of explosive politics should not come in the way of putting Raj Thackeray in his place—a police lock-up, if not prison.
Quite obviously, this was a show of strength; a signal that he too has the power to disrupt and hence must be given due political regard.
So his thugs will go on a rampage if he’s locked up. Let them. Lock them up too.
The real issue is that the Maharashtra state government has given in all too many times to such blackmail to be able to do anything about him now. That’s the real tragedy.
Nitin – agreed. Smarter thing to do is come down hard on his thugs and lock them up. Not only will that take the sting out of his campaign but drive a wedge between and his foot soldiers. Then of course cut a deal with his foot soldiers to discredit him and his cause.
Its very sad to see that not a single polotician now a days speaks about the nation. Every NETA is trying to divide the state and rule for his own benifit. I never heard about merging the two states and making one of it. All NETA wants to be a ruler and do not want to serve the nation. If these things continue I feel that very soon the other countries will take the benifit of this internal fight and India will again go into bondage.
RAJ did not fought for India’s independence and has got the independence free of cost that’s why he will never know how freedom fighter from all states joined hands and fought, though he has no value for independence and INDIANS.
He has forgot GANDHIGIRI and is behaving like racist. He must sit & think of the result for his deeds.
If fight occures in mumbai due to his speech and if marathi & other people die in riots, can he bring the lives of the marathi people back.
WHO WILL BE THE LOOSER.
Of course not RAJ because he has the security and he will be safe. The looser will be aam Janata including the marathis.
You can go to this link to understand Rah Thakre’s points;
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Do-political-movements-need-to-obey-the-law-What-about-Advani-rath-yatra-Modis-Godhra-outrage/276266/