I’ll sort the communication gap: Joshi

MUMBAI, July 22: Even as the chief minister Manohar Joshi unequivocally claimed that there is no threat to his leadership, an uneasy calm p...

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MUMBAI, July 22: Even as the chief minister Manohar Joshi unequivocally claimed that there is no threat to his leadership, an uneasy calm prevailed within the Shiv Sena today over the manner in which he and the Deputy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde handled the Bhujbal-Pichad episode.

“There is absolutely no threat to my leadership. I will soon call on my political mentor and Sena supremo Bal Thackeray to explain the situation arising out of the Sena-led attack on the residences of Chhagan Bhujbal and Madhukar Pichad. I will clear the misunderstanding about the alliance government,” said Joshi, reacting to the directives of the Sena chief to his party workers accused of attacking the bungalows to the police.

In a strongly worded statement on Monday night, Thackeray had launched an attack on the alliance government, saying it had succumbed to the pressures of the opposition parties while dealing with the case. At the insistence of the opposition, the police booked prominent Shiv Sena activists under Section 307 (on attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

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This was the second time that Thackeray expressed strong displeasure over the alliance government. Earlier, Thackeray had blasted the Chief Minister, when on his foreign tour, Joshi signed a memorandum of understanding for a feasibility survey for the construction of an international airport near Mumbai. The Sena supremo’s stand then was that drinking water and village roads should be the priority of the government, instead of an international airport.

Joshi on the other hand denied that they were booked under Section 307. “No one has been booked under Section 307. On the contrary, the Commissioner of Police has submitted that the case is not fit for booking the accused under Section 307. Now I have sought the opinion of the Advocate General on the controversy,” he said.

Meanwhile, Joshi faces a piquant situation. On the one hand, Thackeray is apparently unhappy with him for detaining prominent Sena leaders, while on the other, pressure is building up on him to book all the accused for an attempt to murder, as demanded by AICC President Sitaram Kesri and senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar.

Although Joshi has denied it, saying that law and order was a state subject, a senior official confirmed that the Chief Minister assured Prime Minister I K Gujral that all the accused will be booked under Section 307.

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While a cold war is on between Joshi and Thackeray, a section of Sena workers, who actually led the attack on the residences of Bhujbal and Pichad, today remarked that they were surprised over the sudden volteface by Joshi as well as Thackeray. “We never expected any word of sympathy from Munde, but were surprised over the stand taken by Joshi as well as Thackeray,” a Sena activist said. Joshi was followed by Thackeray, who also called on PC Alexander and Union Home Minister Inderjit Gupta. “Not only Joshi, but Thackeray too condemned the incident,” the Sena activist pointed out. According to a senior Shiv Sena minister, there was no alternative for both Joshi and Thackeray but to take such a stand, as otherwise the United Front government was all set to dismiss the two-and-a-half-year-old alliance government on the ground of deteriorating law and order situation. “We had two alternatives. Either to book our own partymen or relinquish power. We chose the second path since if we remain in power, it will not be difficult to drop the charges against the accused,” the minister added.

Meanwhile, both Shiv Sena and BJP Ministers today ruled out the possibility of change in leadership. “At a juncture, when the state is facing a series of problems. I do not think that the Sena supremo will resort to change in state leadership,” a senior BJP Minister said.