So let's get one thing straight. I hate "gag orders" and official (and officious) attempts to stop people saying what's on their minds. Last February 11, the Bombay police placed just such a "gag order" on Raj Thackeray, an order that was later confirmed by the Bombay High Court.
I think there should never have been such an order. So if I was asked by a Thackeray supporter gathering signatures to sign a petition saying "The 'gag order' on Raj Thackeray is wrong and should be lifted,", I would certainly sign.
There has been a petition making the rounds. I didn't see it, so I don't know what it says, but the news tells me that several hundred thousand people have signed it. Among them, such eminent figures as the actors Nana Patekar and Shreyas Talpade, and the writer Subhash Bhende.
All well so far. I have no complaints. But yesterday's Hindustan Times reports ("Actors, writers on Raj's side") that Patekar also wrote: "One may disagree with the language used by Raj Thackeray, but his thoughts cannot be disputed. I support him."
What "thoughts" are those, Patekar-saheb? The one that, for just one example, postulates that some outsiders "come and spread filth" in Bombay?
Well, Patekar himself was born in Murud-Janjira. Thus he is himself an "outsider" to this city, a man who "migrated" here. So is it true that Thackeray's thoughts about Patekar himself "cannot be disputed" by Patekar himself? Does Patekar himself "support" these thoughts about Patekar himself?
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2 comments:
I completely agree..media has blown this out of proportions...this is just a gimmick by a nondescript politician trying to get a foothold, any which way possible..actors like nana patekar are only adding fuel to the fire.
Ah well, I don't agree with gag orders myself, but in this particular case I do- most emphatically! Ideally, Raj should have been arrested with a non-bailable clause for making divisive statements, but that's never going to happen-not to a Thackeray, not even the lesser kind. Let's not forget that our powers that be are too frightened to arrest him- a gag order is the easy way out for them. Come on, they're buddies, they know each others deepest, darkest secrets- they can tell on each other- that's why they protect each other! And did you not see Raj's Page 3 pix at Deshmukh's sons wedding? He looked as smug as a bug in a rug! Hmph. Birds of a feather!
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