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ShareMumbai: The naming of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in the report of the MS Liberhan committee on the demolition of the Babri Masjid may be a blessing in disguise for the beleaguered party. Political observers believe that the Sena may once again follow the Hindutva line aggressively.
"The Shiv Sena seems to have lost direction after its worst defeat in the assembly elections," one observer said. "Looking at past incidents, the Sena has benefited whenever Balasaheb was caught in some legal tangle."
The Sena has been strongly advocating the Hindutva line after its defeat in the assembly elections. Thackeray insisted that he was proud of the Shiv Sainiks who allegedly demolished the Babri Masjid. He was also opposed to the implementation of the report of the justice Rajendra Sachar committee, which had recommended a special economic package for Muslims.
Senior Sena politician Manohar Joshi's reaction was quite vocal. "I have not read the
report yet," he said. "If it has named Balasaheb as an accused, we will oppose any action against him."
The observer pointed out that the Shiv Sena celebrated on Tuesday the 350th anniversary of Bijapur general Afzal Khan's killing by Chhatrapati Shivaji. "The party's future strategies are evident from this event," the observer said.
An internal assessment by the Sena following the poll result found that the party could not impress the people though it addressed developmental issues as it failed to emphasise on the Hindutva ideology, a source said.
But Sena spokesperson Neelam Gorhe insisted that the party was always committed to Hindutva. "We always followed the ideology," she said. "Though we raised other issues like farmers' suicides during the elections, it did not mean we had gone away from Hindutva."
