Stating that this seems to be the season of open letters, Rajdeep said, "I thought I'd write one to you too (Aaditya). Especially since we went to the same college: as a fellow Xavierite, I feel we share a bond, and as a senior alumni, might even dare to offer some advise."
After writing to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, senior Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai has now written an open letter to Shiv Sena leader and Yuva Sena Chief Aaditya Thackeray offering him some advise being a fellow Xavierite.
Soon after attack on ex BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni for organising former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch in Mumbai, Rajdeep in a blog said that if Maharashtra's asmita has to be defended, maybe Sainiks should go to Marathwada and help farm widows in distress.
Rajdeep wrote, "I thought I'd write one to you too (Aaditya). Especially since we went to the same college: as a fellow Xavierite, I feel we share a bond, and as a senior alumni, might even dare to offer some advise."
Referring to attack on Kulkarni, Rajdeep added, "His crime? He had organised a discussion in Mumbai on former Pakistan foreign minister Khursheed Kasuri's book. The Shiv Sena we were told was angry with the presence of a Pakistani on Indian soil and wanted to register their protest. So, ink had to be spilled on the streets of Mumbai yet again. Last week Ghulam Ali, this week Kasuri: the Sena is back in the news."
Citing the protests by Sena when he was working in Times of India, he added that then Balasaheb Thackeray was the supremo, and now the next generation have taken up mantle, yet some things have not changed.
He wrote, "I am angry with the Sena, although I am not surprised. After all, Kulkarni is not the first public figure you have attacked, he probably won't be the last. Many years ago, when you were probably just a year old, the Sena had dug up a cricket pitch at the Wankhede stadium to protest an Indo-Pak cricket series. When I wrote an article against the Sena, there was a protest outside the Times of India building against me. I was lucky: I escaped unhurt. My senior colleague Nikhil Wagle who edited a Marathi eveninger was less fortunate: his office was broken into and he was physically attacked. Then, your grandfather Balasaheb was the supremo, now you and your father seek the mantle."
He also said that some things won't change, adding, "The difference is that then you were in opposition, now you are in government."
Meanwhile, questioning Maharashtra government, he said "Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised full protection for the book release function. Good for him. But I ask him, and the Maharashtra police: if you were so committed to securing the function, how did you allow Mr Kulkarni to be a soft target? Or does this suit everyone involved: you get mileage, the Maharashtra government pretends to act tough and Mr Kasuri's book too will now sell more because of your foolish act. As for my letter : I guess it will probably be thrown into the dustbin of a bloody and violent history."
Sardesai also addressed the 'patriotic' tweeter users, saying that attacking Pakistani nationals is not the answer to what is happening at the border.
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 "Rajdeep Sardesai writes open letter to Aaditya Thackeray")
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