Raj cornered in Mumbai, can Bal Thackeray save him?

, Oct 1: After much hullabaloos over his anti-Bihari speech in Mumbai, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief

could be cornered in the city as

on Monday, Oct 1 said that he does not deserve any importance.

The High Court's statement surfaced while delivering its judgement regarding a petition which had claimed that the MNS chief should be held guilty of contempt of court.

Taking instances of Assem Trivedi and controversies over his arrest, the high court said, "Some people want importance". The cartoonist Aseem Trivedi's arrest had ignited a nation-wide outrage saying that the government tried to compromise with Indians right to Freedom of Speech, said the court.

Mumbai may witness another course of violence and protest if Raj Thackeray too is arrested over his hate-speech against Biharis who reside in Mumbai and in other places in Maharashtra.

The MNS chief earlier had held a rally in Mumbai demanding action against those people who failed to control violence in Azad Maidan on Aug 11. Later, he slammed Bihar Chief Secretary Navin Kumar for writing a letter to the Mumbai police commissioner Satyapal Singh.

In the letter, Mr Kumar was reported to have expressed his displeasure over the Mumbai police picking up Abdul Qadir Ansari from Sitamarhi village without first informing their counterparts in Bihar. Ansari is accused of desecrating the Amar Jawan Memorial at Mumbai's Azad Maidan during the violence.

Protesting against Mr Kumar's letter, Raj Thackeray had stated, "If the Bihar government tries to become a hurdle in the way of police investigation, then my party would dub every Bihari in Maharashtra as an infiltrator and would force them to leave the state."

Later, the MNS chief also threatened to close down the Hindi TV channels and the leader faced criticism from all parts as most of the political leaders started slamming the MNS chief over his statements against Biharis and TV channels.

Soon after Bombay High Court's statement against him surfaced, the MNS chief headed to meet his uncle, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Monday. Sources informed that Raj went to meet his uncle to enquire about his health. Citing High Court's statement against Raj, one question raises - Can Bal Thackeray save his nephew?

OneIndia News