Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 16 (IANS) A Supreme Court lawyer Tuesday petitioned the Election Commission for de-recognition of the Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for unleashing a “reign of terror” in the garb of espousing the concerns of Marathis.
Expressing concern over their activities in Maharashtra, petitioner Brijesh Kalappa said the two parties have “unleashed a reign of terror under the guise of espousing the case of the ‘Marathi manoos’ and protecting the national interest by making shrill noises regarding Pakistan in general and Muslims in particular”.

“The commission (should) immediately initiate steps to have the two political parties derecognised,” said Kalappa, who filed the complaint as a “concerned Indian citizen”.

“The founders of both these parties are blood relatives and preach a common ideology which is inimical to the country’s fundamental rights and to its ethos,” Kalappa said.

“They have recently become estranged and as a result of which each political party is adopting a shriller attitude than the other, each promising to be the sole protector of the Maharashtians and their interests,” the petitioner alleged.

Kalappa did not mention the name of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and his nephew and MNS chief Raj Thackeray.

Shiv Sena activists had vandalised some theatres in Mumbai that were set to screen Shah Rukh Khan’s “My Name Is Khan” last week. The party had opposed the film’s release after the superstar refused to apologise for saying that Pakistani cricketers should have been included in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) matches.

Like the Shiv Sena, the MNS has been raising the ‘Mumbai for Marathis’ slogan and has in the past carried out attacks against north Indians in the city, particularly taxi drivers.

“This shrill attitude being adopted by them is helping these parties in obtaining a major share of attention from the media. All major newspapers over the last few months have covered these two political parties’ antics with great detail,” Kalappa wrote in the petition.

“These antics will, however, indubitably aid in inspiring other political parties in other states with lesser political success to replicate the policies of these two parties to improve their ratings.”

“The commission take firm and concrete steps to control incidences of political parties straying into parochial or linguistic issues which have an adverse impact on national integration,” Kalappa urged the poll panel.

He also asked the poll panel to convene an all-party meeting to evolve a “model code of conduct” to guide political parties even during the time when no elections are being held.