BOMBAY: Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray laid the blame for the recent riots squarely at the doors of Pakistani and Bangladeshi agents who had infiltrated the city. According to Thackeray, over 1.75 crore Bangladeshi and Pakistani people had entered the country and were responsible for the havoc being wreaked on the metro and the country.
In an interview to Indian Express, the Sena chief averred that for over 10 years now, he had been shouting himself hoarse at the government to “check the smuggling of illicit arms and sophisticated weapons into the city by arms peddlers and infiltrators. How else do you explain the firing at the policemen and the use of AK47s?”
Thackeray said the present catastrophe could have been avoided had the government pad attention to his demand for combing operations in sensitive areas. The government is to blame fully and totally for what is happening in the city and the country today.” When it was pointed out that the Union Defense Minister and the State Government had both denied any incidents or occurrence of arms smuggling into the city, Thackeray asserted that he was “incontrovertibly correct. It is the influence of smugglers cartel over the state government, perhaps they: are denying it since it is all Dawood’s doing.”
The Sena chief claimed that “not a single Prime Minister Congress or non-Congress from Jawaharlal Nehru to Narasimha Rao had ever taken into account the grievances and wounds of Hindus or had ever paid attention to their legitimate complaints. We are being blamed for the maharasht is but what about those offering namaz on the streets?.”
He believed that Hindus had no real voice in the country as and also that there is a total lack of national pride or nationalistic feeling among the masses. He added that time and again: this bogey of international particularly Gulf and Islamic nations pressure is thrust on the people without any reason at all elaborating on this aspect.
Thackeray averred that “even when the US had warned Pakistan against aiding and abetting terrorist activities in Punjab and Kashmir, the Congress government did not show any will to implement measures or even take advantage of this support extended by the western nations,” He also added that others especially the US is not bothered about international pressure. “Did they ask anybody or care for international pressure before attacking Iraq? Muslim fundamentalism has become a worldwide problem and most of the counties have realized it.”
Speaking about Muslims in India, he said, “I do not have anything against nationalist Muslims as long as they are a part of this country.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 22, 1993
