The Rediff Special
'Your responsibilities have increased and you have to act responsibly.
Nobody should take that as a dilution of my aggression'
Bal Thackeray, in an interview with the Shiv Sena newspaper Saamna reflects on the recent political developments in Maharashtra -- the desecration of the Ambedkar statue, the attacks on the homes of Congress leaders, the rise of gangster Arun Gawli as
a political force among other issues. We reproduce excerpts from the interview with kind courtesy to Saamna:
What if there was a strong government at the Centre? Would this have meant the Bharatiya Janata Party-Sena government's dismissal?
It depends on the person. A V P Singh government would have surely
acted with vengeance. Remember Amitabh Bachchan? V P Singh would
have bayed for our blood. I have basically a sense of respect
for I K Gujral. He is a dignified man. I think Gujral wants to remain aloof from dirty political treachery. He's above all this.
You seem to have toned down your aggression as your party is in power.
It is not always good to bring down a government that has a popular
mandate, that has striven hard to come to power for the benefit
of the state and the people by taking an aggressive approach. Your
responsibilities have increased and you have to act responsibly.
Nobody should take that as a dilution of my aggression. You are
forced to act responsibly.
You met the governor to save the government...
Not to save the government. Many people who meet the governor belong
to the Muslim League. They are accompanied by Congress leaders.
These people build a huge wall around the governor and you can't
scale it. If they can meet the governor to express their opinion,
why can't I? Let him understand both views, let truth prevail.
That was my aim.
Why don't your people build such a wall?
They've been accustomed to this for the last 35 years. They have
tasted it. Our government has not yet tasted it. We don't find a need
to taste it. I'm committed to the people.
People have vested me with this government, given us power. So I have to behave
in the most responsible manner.
Were you the government's solicitor when you met the governor and
Home Minister Indrajit Gupta?
I was the Shiv Sena's solicitor. I advocated the people's feelings.
Why should I let them dismiss my government? Just because a man like
Lakhoba (Chhagan Bhujbal) raises a hullabaloo and spreads canard?
I felt he should not be successful in his treachery.
But aren't you responsible for all this...
Can you tell me how I am responsible? Why are you so obsessed with Lakhoba? Why doesn't anybody utter a word about the attack on Ramdas Athavale?
Ramdas Athavale was beaten up by those very people who once supported him. What is this? Aren't they ashamed of themselves? R S Gavai has pointed that the dalits welcomed Lakhoba while beating up Ramdas Athavale who is one among them. These people did not allow the chief minister and his deputy
to enter the hospital. They welcome Lakhoba. What do you make out of this?
The chief minister of Maharashtra is unaware of the attack on the homes of the leaders of the Opposition of his own legislature...
That is guerrilla tactics. Even before this many women have entered the cabins of ministers and painted their faces black. Nobody was arrested, not a single police officer was suspended. Many people entered Sudhakarrao Naik's cabin when he was
the chief minister. Why is there such a furore over the attack
on Lakhoba's house? Who is more important, the chief minister of
a state or the leader of the Opposition? For us, Lakhoba is a traitor.
You were successful in defeating Bhujbal in the assembly election after he left your party. Now he is the one who is troubling you the most.
It's obvious! One sentence from Prabhodhankar's book Hindu Dharmache Divya (Light of the Hindu religion) is very interesting. It's applicable to Lakhoba. It says that converted Muslims
will harm this country more than the puritans. Chhagan is like
a converted Muslim. Converted Muslims have always got to display
this loyalty. The same Lakhoba asks to purge the Congress of traitors.
He is such a shameless creature. Does he have any moral right
to say that?
Would you entertain Communists in your party if they switched over?
I don't think the Communists have changed so much. This isn't
possible. China's war on Hindustan was perceived by the Communists as a fight over some obscure places on the map. How can such people change?
You fought against the Communists, but you have gone to their doors to save your government?
Are you talking about Gujral?
Yes.
No, he is not an umbrella Communist. He is not one of those who will open their umbrella here when it rains in the Soviet Union. He is a Communist of a higher level. Today they don't play the politics of "brothers in red". The world had undergone a drastic change. Be it I K Gujral or Indrajit Gupta, they know it.
Gupta is behaving as a responsible central home minister. I can't openly abuse them as 'red brothers'. Such good people have become a rarity in politics today. That is why people of this country have a lot of hope in Gujral and Gupta. I have myself experienced their non-interference in the development of this nation. They are the people who deserve to be held in high esteem.
What is your opinion of Indrajit Gupta?
He is a good man. Quite restrained. Thinks very carefully before taking any action. He won't buckle under pressure. I've high regard for him as a distinguished parliamentarian. Very few politicians like him are available today in Hindustan.
Does Gupta have any grudge against the Shiv Sena?
No, nothing of that sort. We've said this even of Dange and invited him to join us an the podium. He had no grudge against the Shiv Sena. But now the situation has changed.
Translated from the Marathi by Prasanna D Zorey
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