Even as Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi was making headlines by boarding a local train to reach out to ‘Sabki Mumbai’ (everyone’s Mumbai) in Mumbai on Friday, his party’s highest decision-making body was quietly steeling itself in the Capital to meet the challenge posed by divisive forces like the Shiv Sena.
With Mr. Gandhi’s long-scheduled visit to Mumbai coinciding with the meeting right in the midst of a war of words between him and the Shiv Sena, it was inevitable that the issue would come up for discussion within the CWC.
The issue was raised by Defence Minister A. K. Antony who is also in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra. Pointing out that the Shiv Sena always indulged in aggressive politics, Mr. Antony cautioned against allowing the Sena and its breakaway outfit, the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), to take centrestage.
The Minister’s submission was that the Congress should not be taken in by the larger-than-life image of the Shiv Sena projected by the media as the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the State last year showed that its stranglehold over Mumbai had weakened.
Briefing journalists on what transpired at the meeting on the Maharashtra situation, Congress media in-charge Janardan Dwivedi said members stressed the need to protect the composite culture of India and Mumbai. “It is not just a question of political integration but there has always been emotional integration. Members were of the view that the party should take up the challenge posed by divisive forces.”
Asked whether the CWC gave any specific directions to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on addressing the situation, Mr. Dwivedi said “No.”
Meanwhile, in an open letter to Mr. Chavan, a member of the National Integration Council, Shabnam Hashmi, called for the arrest of all those responsible for the goondaism unleashed by the Shiv Sena and the MNS.
