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Journalism of Courage
In the wake of Raj Thackeray-led MNS party’s hate campaign against North Indians and non-Marathis, the Supreme Court on Thursday struck a patriotic note by saying that ‘all of us are Indians’ and there is no difference between people coming from various regions.
“What’s the difference between North Indians and Indians. All of us are Indians,” a Bench of Justices B N Aggrawal and G S Singhvi quipped, while posting for Monday, a PIL seeking judicial inquiry into the killing of a Bihari youth Rahul Raj in a police encounter and the murder of another North Indian in Mumbai last month.
On Tuesday the apex court had observed that if there was a ‘political will’ such hate campaign would not occur in the country. It had also cited Article 355 to drive home the point that the Union Government had adequate powers to give necessary directions to the State to prevent such incidents.
The Bench of Justices Aggrawal and Singhvi said it would hear the matter along with another related PIL which had earlier sought appropriate directions to the Government to ensure that the country’s unity was not threatened by vested interests fomenting regional chauvinism.
Incidentally, the apex court had directed the petitioners in both cases to suitably amend their petition and come before it when the matter is taken up for further hearing.
During the brief arguments on Thursday, the petitioner Sanjeev Kumar Singh submitted that he was compelled to approach the Supreme Court as the authorities in Maharashtra had failed to respond to his request for providing adequate protection to North Indians in the state.
