Tags:
Journalism of Courage
For the first time since Raj Thackeray parted ways with the Shiv Sena to form the Maharshtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), he has come under attack from the Sena mouthpiece Saamna.
In its editorial on Thursday, the Saamna equated Raj with Moghul general Afzal Khan and emperor Aurangzeb and clearly warned him not to cross the lines while speaking against the Sena and its leadership. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray is the editor of the newspaper.
The editorial lashed out at Raj without taking his name, saying he should not forget that his career was shaped in the Sena and “That’s why he could buy a mill land for Rs 500 crore.”
“We are not surprised with his move. We knew that power-hungry people change colours, for money they will do anything. How can we expect that they would think about family relations? Their plans to finish off the Sena will not be tolerated by the people of Maharashtra,” the piece said.
It termed the public meetings of Raj as “Laughter Challenge Show” and said Raj was not copying the style of the Shiv Sena chief, but was making a forgery of his style to attract attention. “But he doesn’t know that people understand the difference between the real and the fake. Raj can imitate Thackeray Sr.’s style, but how can he match with his knowledge and vision.”
The editorial criticised the MNS chief for his statements at a recent meeting in Thane. “He has lost his balance,” it said.
When contacted for his reaction, Raj was dismissive of the article. “I don’t think that the edit is about me, they have not mentioned my name anywhere.”
