Not satisfied with cartoonist's apology, community demands one from Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, as well as Sanjay Raut
The Marathas took out a massive rally in Nashik on September 24. File pic
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Shiv Sena’s crossing of troubled waters, because of the cartoon in Saamna on the Maratha rally, isn’t over yet. Even as the cartoonist was made to apologise, with the same printed on the party mouthpiece’s front page, the Sena is facing an internal war of sorts as almost half of its MLAs are Maratha and are facing pressure from the community.
Sorry circus
The Marathas are not happy with cartoonist Shrinivas Prabhudesai’s apology and have demanded the same from party chief Uddhav Thackeray, who also is the editor of the paper, and Sanjay Raut, the executive editor.
The Congress too has upped its ante and doesn’t seem to want to let go of this chance of cornering Sena on the issue, especially with BMC elections only a few months away.
Yesterday morning, there were rumours that a few MLAs and MPs were upset with the party and even wanted to quit. However, Uddhav’s Public Relations Officer Harshal Pradhan immediately clarified by sending out a message that no one from Sena was leaving.
The heat from opposition parties as well as the saffron outfit’s long-time ally, however, has been relentless. Leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil said, “Expecting an apology from Uddhav, who didn’t even give his home Matoshree for Balasaheb’s memorial, how will he tender an apology to the community for the cartoon.”
Damage control
The Maratha community is the strongest in the state and Sena won’t stand a chance in the civic elections if it upsets its members. Hence, the party is trying to find ways to come out of this crisis.
On Tuesday, it made senior leader Subhash Desai, who is a Maratha, issue a statement in support of the community. In his statement, he blamed both the Congress and the NCP for trying to aggravate the issue.
There were instances of stones being pelted at Saamna office in Navi Mumbai as well as reports of calls being made there by members of the community, who expressed their displeasure over the cartoon.
Prabhudesai, in his apology, had said that he is a cartoonist and not a political cartoonist and that his aim was not to hurt any community. He had also said that he draws cartoons to bring smiles on people’s faces in today’s busy times.
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