Tiger changes stripes, Sena dumps Hindutva

MUMBAI, Jan 9: Chastened by a series of court cases and wary of the keen eye of the Election Commission, the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today did a political volte face by virtually washing his hands off the Hindutva plank. And to lend credibility to his mellow stance, Thackeray even announced that he favoured a national monument instead of Ram temple on the disputed site at Ayodhya.

The usually temperamental and fiery Thackeray was today reason personified as he told journalists after announcing list of candidates that “seeking votes in the name of religion is political madness.” Thackeray went on to add that Hindutva will not be Sena’s main poll plank this time round. “We do not want to seek votes in the name of religion as we feel that all religions have identical status under the constitution,” Thackeray explained. Thackeray also admitted that his party has already paid a heavy price for extensive use of religion to secure political mileage as it had to face a series of cases in the High Court aswell as Supreme Court. “Our Chief Minister Manohar Joshi escaped narrowly. Now we do not want to face a similar situation,” remarked a cautious Thackeray.

In another significant announcement, Thackeray said since neither the Centre nor the judiciary have been able to amicably resolve the row over Babri Masjid, a national monument should be built on the disputed site. “Now we have come to the conclusion that both-the government and the judiciary- are unable to resolve the dispute. Under the circumstances, I personally feel that separate plots should be allotted to Hindus and Muslims and a national monument should built on the disputed site,” Thackeray suggested. A mosque and a temple could be built on alternative sites, he said.