Thackeray throws a bombshell at Joshi

MUMBAI, Oct 2: A day after catching the alliance members unawares by announcing free power to state's farmers, the Shiv Sena chief Bal Th...

MUMBAI, Oct 2: A day after catching the alliance members unawares by announcing free power to state8217;s farmers, the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray, today dropped another bombshell by announcing that he will sack Chief Minister Manohar Joshi even if there was a single stricture against him by the Bombay High Court in the land allotment case at Pune involving his son-in-law, Girish Vyas.

Joshi, who also holds the Urban Development portfolio, is accused of abusing his influence for getting a prime plot of land meant for a school dereserved for his his son-in-law. Significantly, Vyas completed his multi-storeyed luxury apartment complex well before the actual orders deserving the land were signed on July 29.

Addressing a select gathering of the Sena leaders, including Joshi, for over two hours, Thackeray said if the High Court issued any specific strictures against the chief minister, then 8220;he will not wait for a demand either from the members of his own party or even the opposition,8221; but sack him forthwith.Thackeray explained that he was making this 8220;frank and free8221; statement in view of the ongoing litigation before the High Court involving Joshi and Vyas.

Thackeray8217;s today8217;s statement assumes significant political importance as only last week, he had declined to comment on the controversy saying he would not make any observation on the row till the case is decided. Apart from this being his first categorical statement on removing Joshi, the occasion at which it was made, a convention of prominent Sena leaders, also adds to its significance.

The controversy has its germ in a public interest litigation challenging the dereservation of the plot filed by Corporator Nitin Jagtap and journalist Vijay Kumbhar, both from Pune. The plot was allotted to Vyas, who constructed a multi-storeyed building on it without obtaining permissions from the PMC. Both Kumbhar and Jagtap submitted to the court that the dereservation of the plot was in blatant violation of the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning MRTP Act and thePune Municipal Corporation PMC Act to favour Vyas. They had further alleged that there was a gross misuse of office by the Chief Minister to facilitate the dereservation of the said plot.

Subsequently, the High Court asked a Pune District Judge to conduct an on the spot panchnama and submit a report. After hearing the counsel for Kumbhar and Jagtap last week, High Court adjourned the case for a final hearing on November 4.

In his speech at the convention, Thackeray challenged the Congress to contest with the Shiv Sena without striking any alliance with either the Republican Party of India RPI or the Samajwadi Party SP in the next Maharashtra Assembly elections. And in a possible hint at Sena8217;s plan of keeping its options on going it alone open, he added 8220;if you have guts and courage, fight with us alone. In that event, even Sena will fight alone without the BJP.8221;

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Thackeray asked his party workers to undertake a massive mass-contact drive from October nine during the Saffron eek. Thackerayhimself is expected to address at least four meetings in various parts of the state during the Saffron Week.

Earlier in the day, the convention was inaugurated by Chief Minister Manohar Joshi who advised the party workers to campaign to the masses the achievements of the three-and-a-half-year old Sena-BJP alliance government.

Joshi also spoke at length on the controversy on the financial crisis in the state and developmental projects of the state government like irrigation through the Krishna Valley Development Corporation and other developmental schemes of the alliance government.

The convention was also addressed by Sena leaders Subhash Desai, Udhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray, Pramod Navalkar and Dattaji Salvi.