You can speak in Parliament, Thackeray tells MPs

By Arunkumar Bhatt

MUMBAI, AUG. 10. The Shiv Sena Chief, Mr. Bal Thackeray, has decided not to break away from the National Democratic Alliance or the BJP - at least for now - but allowed his MPs to break their silence in both the Houses of Parliament.

Mr. Thackeray instructed his MPs at a specially- convened meeting at his residence here today and asked them to participate in the parliamentary debates like before from Monday next. But he pulled up the Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Sanjay Nirupam, and told him to be ``economical'' while speaking.

The Union Heavy Industries Minister, Mr. Manohar Joshi, told reporters after the meeting that Mr. Thackeray gave ``certain instructions'' to Mr. Nirupam. A crestfallen Mr. Nirupam, who was standing next to Mr. Joshi, refused to answer questions.

It was Mr. Nirupam's speech in the Rajya Sabha alleging the Prime Minister's Office involvement in the UTI scam that sparked off a crisis in the NDA with Mr. Vajpayee offering to resign (though he used a different issue to make the offer). It had strained the relations between the Shiv Sena and the BJP to a breaking point. The Sena chief made Mr. Nirupam send a written apology to the Prime Minister, but defended the MP to the extent possible. Mr. Thackeray had, however, responded to an aggressive posture of the BJP that they were free to break the alliance in the State.

This had led to widespread speculation that Mr. Thackeray might sever ties with the BJP. Asked about the future of the alliance, Mr. Joshi Said Mr. Thackeray would make a statement about it at the appropriate time, indicating that the belligerency was far from being over.

But other MPs, particularly the former Maharashtra minister, Mr. Chandrakant Khaire, Mr. Shivaji Mane, Mr. Suresh Jadhav, Mr. Anant Geete, and Ms. Bhavana Gawali said the Sena would continue to be in the NDA and with the Government and would not let the Vajpayee Government fall.

Mr. Mane, who had demanded Mr. Nirupam's resignation for causing the disturbance, said the issue was a closed chapter. They said Mr. Nirupam's conduct was not discussed at the meeting.

The Shiv Sena has 15 members in the Lok Sabha and four in the Rajya Sabha. Most of the MPs were present in today's meeting. According to a party source, Mr. Thackeray did explore the pros and cons of quitting the NDA but the MPs' view was that the party should continue like before. But this does not mean that the party would function like a BJP loyalist in Parliament from Monday. ``We will continue to raise issues of concern in the national and public interests,'' Mr. Geete said.

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Section  : National
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