Joshi vs Munde: Yet another round of acrimony

Even as Munde said this, in Mumbai, all the fourteen arrested Shiv Sainiks, including Vibhag Pramukh Vinod Khopkar, were released on bail by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate A A A Kidwai of the 37th Court, today. They were released on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each this evening.

The accused have been ordered to remain present at the Cuffe Parade police station for two hours daily, till 15 days.

A single bailapplication filed on behalf of the 14, argued four grounds on which their further detention was unnecessary. The application said the Shiv Sena was nowhere concerned with the incident at BCCI and it was not the party’s policy to attack individuals.

It added that none of the Sainiks were present at the BCCI at the time of the attack. The Sainiks have also given explanation as to where they were during the period when the BCCI was ransacked.

While Munde today claimed that differences over the Indo-Pak cricket tour hadn’t affected the BJP-Sena alliance at all, the Congress severely criticised the “document of surrender” which Home Minister L K Advani had signed with the Sena.

Party spokesman Ajit Jogi demanded an “impartial” probe into the role of the Sena saying it was shocking that I&B Minister Pramod Mahajan read out a statement in which Thackeray was quoted as having praised Sena activists for their “agitation.” Declining to single out Thackeray as the one who instigated the violence, Jogi saidit was for the law-enforcement agencies to find out.

Responding to this, BJP spokesman K L Sharma said: “It is regrettable that the Congress has chosen to criticise the Government, thus reacting in a cussed manner. It would seem the Congress leadership was keen that the Test series should have been disrupted rather than be held in a friendly atmosphere free of tension.”