Thackeray's demand

MUMBAI, SEPT. 9. The Shiv Sena leader, Mr. Bal Thackeray, today expressed unhappiness over the recent reshuffle in the Union Council of Ministers and demanded that his party's representatives be given better portfolios.

Mr. Thackeray told presspersons here that Mr. Manohar Joshi, Minister for Heavy Industries, should at least be made in- charge of the Surface Transport Ministry, and Mr. Balasaheb Vikhe-Patil, Minister of State for Finance, should be given an independent charge.

``There are so many BJP Ministers of State with independent portfolios. Why can't Mr. Vikhe-Patil have one?'' he wondered after inaugurating ``Adhar'', an HMT-sponsored industrial unit for women at Dharavi here.

The Sena leader said, ``Though we have the moral right on a fourth ministerial berth in the Vajpayee Government, we do not want it. But at least important portfolios should be allotted to our Ministers.''

``I don't want power and I have told the Prime Minister so. But we must see what is in the interest of the country. If this Government falls, the country will be in trouble.'' Asked whether he was satisfied with the performance of the Vajpayee Government, he said, ``I don't know what is happening.''

The Sena's claim on a fourth ministerial berth is in place of Mr. Ram Jethmalani, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha with Shiv Sena's support but later resigned from the Union Cabinet.

Asked whether his party would contest the Mumbai civic polls with the BJP, Mr. Thackeray said, ``We do not know whether we will remain together or not.'' On the proposal to introduce astrology in universities, Mr. Thackeray said, ``Astrology should not be made a part of the curriculum. Those who want to study it are free to do it.''

The Sena leader, however, defended the Union Human Resource Development Minister, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, under attack for ``saffronisation'' of education, and questioned, ``What about the Islamisation of education?''

About the ``Islamisation'' of education, he referred to the deletion of certain historical incidents from the school curriculum during the then Babasaheb Bhosle-led Congress Government in Maharashtra. ``Even Saraswati Vandana was removed from the curriculum.''

Earlier, he lashed out at the ruling class for its ``apathy'' towards farmers, workers and students. Without referring to any particular government, he said, ``You talk about democracy... What is the use of it when scores of people are starving, farmers and labourers are suffering and those governing are getting wealthier day by day.'' He asked the people to resort to self- employment and look after their own welfare.

Mr. Thackeray, who has just recovered from a viral infection, was attending a public function after almost a month.

He came down heavily on the Democratic Front (DF) Government in Maharashtra, saying, ``It is only targeting the public welfare schemes launched by the erstwhile Sena-BJP Government.''

The Sena chief was all praise for Mr. Manohar Joshi, on whose initiative the industrial unit for women was set up.

Sena to oppose `fatwa'

Meanwhile, the party's north India unit has objected to the fatwa issued by a Kashmir-based militant group asking Hindu and Sikh women to wear bindis on their foreheads and saffron-coloured ``dupattas'' to segregate them from Muslim women, saying the diktat would be resisted.

The Shiv Sena's north India unit chief, Mr. Jaibhagwan Goel, said a delegation of party chiefs from north Indian States would visit Jammu and Kashmir shortly to study the prevailing conditions and report to Mr. Thackeray.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the party chiefs and main functionaries of northern State units here.

Expressing anger over the killings of Hindus in the State, Mr. Goel said the so-called jehadis were ``merciless killers and hardcore terrorists.''

- PTI, UNI

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