CM breached pre-debate pact

Joshi had made it clear that he has high regard for the judge and that his remarks were against the recommendations and not the commission.

According to BJP leaders the line of action of the alliance on the report had been finalised at a meeting between BJP leader Pramod Mahajan and Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on Tuesday. It had been decided that the alliance partners wouldnot encourage provocative debates which might result in the eruption of violence in the city.

Joshi was to read the Action Taken Report in the Lower House while deputy chief minister Gopinath Munde would make an identical announcement in the Upper House. To ensure that the Opposition Congress would not create problems for the government, the decision of the BJP-SS alliance was conveyed to senior Congress leader Sharad Pawar by Mahajan. Pawar assured Mahajan that the Congress would not make an issue out of the report in order to maintain peace in the city.

However, much to the surprise of the alliance, Joshi spoke at length on Hindutva and the need to support Hindus. In the same breath Joshi described the report as anti-Hindu and pro-Muslim.

“At this juncture when the BJP is trying to project itself as secular, the views expressed by the Chief Minister will prove detrimental to the alliance,” said a senior BJP leader adding that the minority communities would certainly distance themselves from thealliance. He feared that the alliance would pay a heavy price due to Joshi’s remarks in the coming Assembly elections.

Endorsing the views of the BJP, a Sena minister said that on one hand Thackeray had been asking party workers to maintain peace but on the other hand the Chief Minister was making highly provocative remarks on the report on the floor of the House.