July 14, 2008
Shiv Sena felicitates Sarpotdar
by Sandeep Ashar
MUMBAI: Four days after a special riots court convicted senior Shiv Sena leader and former member of Parliament Madhukar Sarpotdar for inciting a mob in Bandra during the communal riots of 1992-93, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray publicly felicitated him on Sunday.
At a gathering to address concerns of the Sarvajanik Ganesh mandals at Shivaji Mandir, Dadar, Thackeray felicitated Sarpotdar along with former deputy mayor Ashok Patel and Madhukar Raut, who were also accused of inciting mobs during the riots.
In fact, indicating that Hindutva will be the Sena’s card in the upcoming elections, Thackeray even dubbed the three “messengers of Hindutva”.
Meanwhile, Thackeray called upon all ‘Hindu forces’ to celebrate the Ganesh festival with fanfare. Sena leaders and Sainiks are in charge of the management of many mandals in the city. Thackeray suggested the party use the Ganeshotsav platform to spread the Hindutva agenda.
