Thackeray asks Sena to revive Marathi plank

Thackeray asks Sena to revive Marathi plank
PRAFULLA MARPAKWAR

MUMBAI, MAY 10: The Shiv Sena will once again, after a gap of more than a decade, explore the Marathi plank to galvanise the crisis-ridden organisation at all levels.

``We have not given up the cause of the Marathi people. Even today, we feel that all the hoardings, nameplates of shops and leading industrial houses should be in Marathi. In fact, Shiv Sena leaders should once again insist on Marathi boards in their areas,'' Thackeray told a specially convened meeting of the party top brass called to take stock of the party's political listlessness and redraw strategy.

Thackeray justified his view, saying if Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Karnataka insisted on the use of regional or local language, there was nothing wrong, so there should be no objection if he insisted on use of Marathi on signboards etc.

Thackeray also declared that his party had not given up the boundary dispute with Karnataka. ``Maharashtra has lost 69 persons in the agitation for the cause of the state. Under such circumstances, it is our responsibility to protect the interest of the Marathi-speaking people in the disputed area. We will take up their cause,'' he said.

Thackeray called upon party activists to take all possible steps to keep the organisation alive and more aggressive. ``We should make changes in our style of functioning. We should be polite and gain confidence of the masses. Party leaders should concentrate in rural areas and address themselves to the problems of the villagers,'' Thackeray said.

Thackeray statement assumes importance because, during the last decade, there was a general belief that in view of the changing political circumstances, Shiv Sena had given up the Marathi-pride plank, the very core around which the party was founded in 1966 and grew. Then the Shiv Sena had launched a massive agitation to convert all boards into Marathi and agitated for jobs to the sons of the soil. The stand taken on the Marathi issue evoked overwhelming response with youths joining the Shiv Sena on a very large scale.

In the subsequent years, particularly after 1980, Shiv Sena decided to widen its base, at considerable cost to its Marathi votebank and, more importantly, resulted in erosion of party ranks at all levels.

Former Chief Minister Narayan Rane said, along with Marathi, the Shiv Sena workers even at the grassroot level, should spread the message of Hindutva as envisaged by Thackeray.

Rane, who is also the leader of Opposition, called for introspection in view of deterioration in the organisation: ``We should examine if the power we held during the four and half years, helped us organisationally or weakened us,'' he told the meeting.