A day after former BJP ideologue Sudheendra Kulkarni was attacked and his face blackened, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ referred to him as a ‘lover of Pakistan’ and even went to the extent of comparing him with 26/11 terrorist Ajmal Kasab.
“What is the need for Pakistan to send people like Kasab to carry out destructive activities in India, when persons like Kulkarni are present in the country?,” the editorial said, saying that people like Kulkarni have done what ‘a hundred Kasabs’ would not be able to do.
“The real threat to the country comes not from fanatic and extremist Muslims, but from people like Sudheendra Kulkarni,” it said.
However, the editorial said that act of blackening Kulkarni’s face was done by ‘patriotic people’, while remaining silent on whether the persons involved were members of the Shiv Sena.
The Saamana editorial said that the persons who invited ex-Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri may get Pakistan’s highest national honour, but they would face attacks from people in India.
Questioning Kulkarni for posting pictures with a blackened face on Twitter, the Sena mouthpiece said, “Maharashtra is known for patriotism and its defence of the country, and the Shiv Sena is doing this work with alacrity.”
The Shiv Sena also took a dig at writers returning Sahitya Akademi awards, asking, “What do these people (intellectuals) do but give unnecessary pieces of advice? Why do intellectuals in Pakistan not speak up against their government and say the truth about infiltration in Kashmir and Indian soldiers dying?”
“There is much outrage over the incident, as though Khurshid Kasuri is an ambassador of peace or a Mahatma. However, (no matter how much the opposition it faces), the Shiv Sena will not change its position on Pakistan,” the Saamana editorial said.
Following the attack on Monday, the Mumbai police arrested six Shiv Sena ‘workers’ in connection with the incident.
The launch of Kasuri’s book Neither a Hawk nor a Dove, meanwhile took place as scheduled, with Kulkarni attending the event. The chief of the Mumbai chapter of think-tank Observer Research Foundation said at at a press conference that Mumbai ‘cherishes the right to dissent’ and that while it belongs to Maharashtra, it is a national and international city.