Wronged writers assert their right to say quot;noquot;

February 15: Chief Minister Narayan Rane8217;s reported statement that he will soon speak to litterateurs who have resigned from the state government8217;s various committees has sparked scepticism among the latter, with most saying it8217;s highly unlikely he will initiate a dialogue.Even if he does, it is doubtful if the litterateurs will withdraw their resignations, considering their unbending stance at the moment. Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray8217;s description of litterateurs as 8220;bulls,8221; and of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan as a 8220;bull bazaar,8221; triggered a series of resignations last week. The first one to put in his papers was Pune8217;s Ram Shevalkar, who quit the Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha, and the latest to do so has been Vasundhara Pendse-Naik, who gave up her government post today.

Madhav Gadkari, journalist and former editor of Loksatta who resigned from the Rajya Marathi Vikas Sanstha, said he is not all keen on meeting the Chief Minister. 8220;There8217;s no question of withdrawing the resignations, the case has nowgone out of hand,8221; he said. However, he thinks that given the firm stand of the litterateurs on not withdrawing their resignations, Rane will not hold a meeting with them in the first place. 8220;Besides, it8217;s absurd to co-operate with a government that doesn8217;t believe in democracy,8221; Gadkari noted, angrily adding, 8220;What is Bal Thackeray8217;s photograph doing on the first page of the Sahitya Sammelan8217;s souvenir? He8217;s in no way connected with the meet.8221;

Poet Mangesh Padgaonkar said he is not averse to holding government posts, 8220;but the state government should have come out with a statement saying Thackeray8217;s remarks are his personal views, and that the Rs 25 lakh grant sanctioned for the literary meet is its own. Rane should have condemned Thackeray8217;s stand. Will he do it?8221;

Shevalkar, in his resignation letter, has referred to Thackeray8217;s remarks against Maharashtra8217;s most loved litterateur P L Deshpande, made in December 1996. 8220;I8217;m pained by Bal Thackeray8217;s improper remarks about litterateurs,8221; hisresignation notes. Dr Sudhir Rasal in his resignation letter has called Thackeray8217;s remarks 8220;wrong and humiliating8221; to the literary community. 8220;His stand can be said to be that of the state government. I find it meaningless to work for a government that respects neither the state8217;s literature nor its litterateurs,8221; he has said. Nature poet N D Manohar has echoed the same view. 8220;It8217;s impossible for me to work for a government that humiliates litterateurs,8221; he said.

Meanwhile, Mumbai mayor Nandu Satam8217;s remark 8220;Will the clothes of those who pick up a fight with the Sena chief remain in place?8221; has created another sore point in the relations between the Shiv Sena and state litterateurs.