Orkut blog slur against Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray rocks House

MUMBAI: The legislative assembly witnessed uproarious scenes on Thursday when the opposition Shiv Sena-BJP members condemned the alleged derogatory content, against Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and Chattrapati Shivaji, posted on a community blog on Orkut portal.

Deputy CM and Home Minister R R Patil assured the House that the government will seek legal opinion from experts and will inform it of the action being taken in couple of days.

The matter was raised through a point of propriety by Leader of Opposition Ramdas Kadam, who argued that the blog, authored by one Jamal, had very derogatory and down-right defamatory comments on the Sena chief and revered Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj.

While the Sena chief was held in high esteem by countless Shivsainiks like him, Shivaji was like a revered deity across the state, and hence it amounted to insult on the state itself. Sena-BJP members raised slogans and demanded action against the guilty, he added.

Making an intervention Speaker Babasaheb Kupekar admitted that the blog’s content were indeed inflammatory, and hence could not be discussed in the House. He urged the members and the government to join him in discussing and finding solution to the issue in his

Vidhan Bhavan chambers. As the uproar continued the Speaker had to adjourn the House proceedings for 15 minutes.