Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, who is the editor-in-chief of party mouthpiece Saamana, and its executive editor Sanjay Raut on Tuesday came under attack by political rivals and ally BJP for publishing a cartoon poking fun at the Maratha rallies. The Congress, NCP, and the BJP sought a public apology from Mr. Thackeray and Mr. Raut.
The Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the Congress, said, “The cartoon has evoked reactions from the Maratha community. The depiction appears to insult and degrade women participating in the rallies. The Shiv Sena is known to be anti-Dalit and anti-Muslim, but the cartoon shows that the Sena is also anti-Maratha. The Shiv Sena and Saamana have always tried to drive a wedge between communities.”
The Leader of Opposition in the Council, Dhananjay Munde of the NCP, urged the government to make its stand clear on the Maratha reservation in two days.
Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar also joined the clamour for an apology from Mr. Raut, who is a Rajya Sabha MP.
Hitting back, State Industries Minister Subhash Desai accused the Congress and the NCP of compelling Marathas to take to the streets. “They were in power for 15 years, but neither did they introduce social schemes for the community nor fully implement the 16-per cent reservation for them. They granted quotas in such a manner that the reservation policy could not withstand the scrutiny of the High Court.”
Office damaged
Meanwhile, three people allegedly belonging to Sambhaji Brigade damaged windows of the Saamana office in Sanpada, to protest the newspaper’s cartoon. As per the police complaint, three men drove up in a silver Maruti Alto around 1.45 p.m., and handed a letter, purportedly from Sambhaji Brigade, to security personnel before throwing stones at the building’s glass facade.
With inputs by Raina Assainar, freelance journalist
