BOMBAY, 16 December 2005 — With rumors abounding of an imminent split in the Shiv Sena, rebel Sena leader Raj Thackeray, met the Sena chief Bal Thackeray at his residence yesterday along with former Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi.
Thackeray’s son Uddhav, with whom Raj has differences, was not present at the meeting. Raj, Thackeray’s nephew, refused to reveal what was discussed at the 30-minute meeting, but continued to reiterate his charges against Uddhav and his caucus.
When asked why he had not met Thackeray for so many days despite repeated calls from the Sena chief, Raj flatly denied that he had received calls from his uncle to meet him. If I had been called, I would not have hesitated to go and meet the Sena chief.
In a significant development, the Bombay High Court granted film star Salman Khan interim relief from being arrested in the 1998 black buck poaching case. A Jodhpur Court had issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against the actor.
Hearing the actor’s plea seeking cancellation of the arrest warrant, Justice S.C. Dharmadhakari granted relief to the actor till Dec. 20 regarding implementation of the warrant. Salman was directed by the judge to appear before a competent court within ten days in the black buck poaching case.
