A new tiger goes on the prowl

July 17: Like a seasoned maharajah as it were, ganglord-turned-politician Arun Gawli wielded enormous control over his supporters. So much ...

July 17: Like a seasoned maharajah as it were, ganglord-turned-politician Arun Gawli wielded enormous control over his supporters. So much so, that he kept himself aloof from the entire episode, till the mission was successfully achieved.

The Akhil Bharatiya Sainiks morcha also left little doubt about the source of the group’s new image. The ABS held aloft their saffron flag, where the Tiger was replaced by the Gomata, and the slogans of `Jai Maharashtra’ and `Jai Shriram’ were replaced by `Jai Shambho Narayan’. If Bal Thackeray is the Hindu Hriday Samrat for Shiv Sainiks, Gawli is the Tarun Hriday Samrat for the Akhil Bharatiya Sainiks. Every ABS leader made populist and extremist statements in front of the gargantuan crowd, along the lines of the Sena supremo and Uma Bharati.

Threats were issued to police, scribes and anyone who would dare to oppose the ABS. "Hamse jo takrayega, mitti me mil jayega," was one of the oft-heard slogans. The scribes were specifically warned not to call their leader a criminal. "This would not be tolerated anymore," announced the speakers. They also made personal allegations against the SS and BJP leaders. But beyond politics, it was small, but long-standing personal problems that drove people from beyond the state capital to the morcha. As it was with a small group of 26 people from Alangaon village of Bhatkuli taluk, Amravati district. Sheshrao Meshre, representing the village, feels they should take a chance with Gawli to save their cotton fields. "The MP and MLA representing us have stopped responding to our problems, so we are here to participate in the morcha and get the work done by Gawli," said Meshre.

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The government has decided to build a dam on the river Pedhi which passes through the village, as a result of which they fear that would lose their land under the catchment area of the dam. They do not want alternative habitation.

While a representative from Melghat was driven here by the woe of malnutrition, a group of 30 young men from Dhamnagaon in Amravati turned up here dogged by unemployment. "We are sure the ABS will provide us with jobs," said Vishal Jadhav.

Asha Gawli, in the role of president of Mahila Aghadi of the ABS, appealed to the victims of dowry to approach Dagdi Chawl for instant remedy. "Send a post card addressed to Dagdi Chawl if your in-laws are harassing you for dowry. We will take care of the rest," she announced.