BOMBAY: The Bombay High Court last week admitted an Rs 100crore suit Praying that the Bombay Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) resolution, Haming the flyover after the late Prime Minister Morarji Desai, be made legal and binding.

“The High Court, however, refused to stay the renaming of the flyover after Thackeray’s father

Prahodhankar Thackeray.

The suit filed by prominent Bombay citizens including former municipal commissioners S.S. Tinaikar and J.B. D,’souza and former Lok Sabhamember Ratangshi Rajda come close on the heels of Maharashtra Chief Minister Manohar Joshi’s public an noun cement that the over bridge would be named after Prabodhankar Thackeray. It may be recalled that Thackeray had created a rumpus over the naming of the flyover after Morarj!. The overbridged, which is located near Thackeray’s residence in Kala Nagar area of Bandra, will be named after Balsaheb’s father this week, Meanwhile, in a related development, the Samana newspaper, which ‘Thackeray edits, launched one of the most vicious attacks against Morarji Desai. Accusing the “Congress dogs”  Congress has made the naming of the pool after Desai an issue the Samana editorial lashed out at the party’s leaders for wanting to name the pool after ‘the butcher” (Mr. Desai) who killed 105 Marathi manoos.

The editorial said that Desai, the “khalnayak (villain),” was dead set against an independent Maharashtra. “The new generation in Maharashtra should be made aware of the tale of Mabarashtra’s birth and the role that this “khalnayak”s haramkhori” played in causing unimaginable hardship to Maharashtrians, said the editorial Carrying on the vitriolic attack the

editorial said Pakistan awarded her highest civil medal, Nishane Pakistan, to Desai because possibly he had leaked sensitive intelligence information to it for which he was rewarded. Calling the late Prime Minister “neech (lowly)” and “naradham (killer),” the editorial alleged that Morarji Desai ordered shoot at sight of innocent people during the formation of independent Maharashtra. Blasting Congress leaders, the editorial reminded them that “Mata Indiradevi” had imprisoned the naradham Morarji for 17 months during the Emergency. The editorial said the 105 people killed during the “Sanyaukt. Maharashtra” agitation would “curse” the Congress leaders and that “100 generations of Congress would go to hell.” The editorial warned the Congress leaders of trying to create trouble against the naming of the bridge after Thackeray’s father issuing dogs of Congress are hereby warned against aggravating the situation. — “let us launch a Campaign against Islam. We will stop the campaign only if the Muslims will,” warned Thackeray.

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 14, 1995