We should be proud of Sadhvi Pragya: Balasaheb Thackeray

November 2, 2008 Source: Rediff

Coming out in support of Sadhvi Pragya Thakur and other Malegaon blasts accused, Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray on Saturday lashed out at pro-Hindutva elements for 'disowning' them and asked the legal community to come forward to defend the trio.

'The entire Hindu community should support the Sadhvi, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay and Samir Kulkarni who are being framed by the Anti-Terrorist Squad,' Balasaheb Thackeray said in his trademark fiery editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna.

Thackeray said he did not support any kind of terrorism that 'weakens the country and we regret the loss of life in the Malegaon incident.

'But if the pseudo secularists in the country are supportive of Afzal Guru (Parliament attack convict), why should we not love and be proud of Sadhvi Pragya, Ramesh Upadhyay and Samir Kulkarni?

''Every day Islamic terrorists are planting bombs to kill Hindus in India. The latest blasts in Assam too were engineered by Bangladeshi migrants. If a Sadhvi Pragya or a Ramesh Upadhyay or a Samir Kulkarni is born in the present milieu, they cannot be blamed,' it added.

Alleging that the ATS machinery was being used at the behest of the Congress, which is practicing politics of Muslim appeasement, it said, 'the arrests of cultured and educated individuals in connection with the Malegaon blasts is an effort to crush Hindus to please Muslim fanatics in the country.

'The editorial also lambasted pro-Hindutva organisations for what it called 'disowning' the trio.

'If Chhatrapati Shivaji and Veer Savarkar were alive today, they would suffer bouts of depression to see the passive tolerance of Islamic intimidation by Hindus,' the Sena chief said.

The editorial ends with a poser. 'If a Majid Memon puts on the black coat to defend brother of underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in a court of law, can we expect another Memon to stand up to argue for Sadhvi Pragya, Upadhyay and Kulkarni?'