MUMBAI, 15 September 2007 — The political battle over leadership change in Maharashtra state is generating heat between Chief Minister Vilasrao Desmukh’s supporters and the dissident group led by Revenue Minister Narayan Rane, who has set his eyes on the top post in the state.
Deshmukh is already under fire for reportedly making disparaging remarks against the farmers of Vidarbha and Rane does not want to miss the opportunity to benefit from this issue. For the first time since joining the Congress two years ago, Rane on Thursday left for Delhi after launching a fierce attack on Deshmukh and his three supporters, Employment Guarantee Scheme Minister Harshavardhan Patil, Agriculture Minister Balasaheb Thorat and School Education Minister Vasant Purke.
The three had called a press conference and given Deshmukh a clean chit on insult to farmers, to which Rane had questioned their propriety in speaking on behalf of the chief minister. The ministers had said that distorting the remarks of Deshmukh was a conspiracy to malign the chief minister by his detractors, an indirect reference to Rane, who in turn also called a press conference and launched a tirade against them.
Rane thundered in his usual style: “If there was an urgency to take damage control exercise, the entire Cabinet should have been taken into confidence. Who are these three ministers to question my letter to the Congress High Command?”
“Who has given them the authority to suo moto give explanation on farmers remarks? If there was anything wrong the chief minister has every right to discuss the matter with anybody. It would have been appropriate if the issue was discussed with all the ministers,” Rane said and added: “My attempt was to come in defense of the poor farmers of Maharashtra. It is a sensitive matter.”
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena working president Uddhav Thackeray yesterday launched an attack on the Congress party and said that if the Congress-led federal government did not accept the Hindu deity Ram, then the “pretenders” who celebrate Gandhi centenary should immediately remove the words “Oh Ram” inscribed at the Gandhi memorial at Rajghat in Delhi. Thackeray made these comments at a press conference held in Mumbai on Thursday.
Thackeray blasted the federal government for ignoring the Hindu deity Ram and their holy scriptures “Ramayan” and alleged that the Congress led federal government had embarked on a strategy of appeasing the Muslims while hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus. “Don’t take the Hindus and the Hindu religion for granted. The Hindus will hit back strongly,” Thackeray said.
“It is the Congress which refers to Gandhi as the father of the nation, and it was Gandhi who has uttered the words ‘Oh Ram’ while taking the last breath of his life,” Thackeray said and reminded the Congress that the last spoken words of Gandhi were inscribed right at his place of cremation.
Thackeray questioned whether the Congress has the courage and can dare to hurt the sentiments of the Muslim and Christian communities. The Congress is on the path of drowning Ram and the country, and he warned that the Sena would be launching protests, but would go further and bury forever those who try to hurt the Hindus and their religion.
