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Pro-Pak. Muslims can leave: Thackeray

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI Oct. 15. The Shiv Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, today asked Hindus to start calling India "Hindurashtra'' for which "you need no one's permission.'' Only, "our religion is to be honoured here'' and then "we will look after other religions.''

Objecting to any possible withdrawal of troops from the Indo-Pakistan border, he said it was bad enough with militants crossing over, despite the presence of the forces and imagine "what would happen if that hurdle too was removed".

To him, withdrawing the armed forces from the border was a "foolish" idea and he had sent an emissary to meet the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, to ask " what is happening? I want to know why and what is happening." Mr.Thackeray did not name the emissary.

At a well-attended annual Dassera public meeting, Mr. Thackeray said that if Muslims had respect only for the Pakistani flag, then "they can leave this country.'' In the United Kingdom, they were told that the host country's laws had to be honoured.

The security cover for Mr. Thackeray was unprecedented; he spoke from behind a bullet-proof shield which, he complained, was cramping his style. He spoke of his willingness to "wipe out'' trouble-making Muslims. What was needed, he said, was tackling militants, such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba, who kept coming in and others who worked under the cover and assistance of the Pakistani ISI. First, "kick the four crore Bangladeshi Muslims out'' and then the country would be secure.

`Hindus should form suicide squads'

Earlier in his party's mouth piece, Saamana, Mr.Thackeray said terrorism could best be countered only if Hindus also had suicide squads "like them''. People had to conduct themselves "like men.''

A country of a billion people, he said, in his front page message, should not be helpless. And when one looks at the Government, it is found that it is equally helpless.

So, instead of waiting for someone else to do something for us, "are we going to do something by ourselves or not'' he asked? ``They'' have suicide squads but "do we have suicide squads of Hindus''. If such squads existed, then the headstrong terrorists could be taken head-on, Mr. Thackaray said.

He took a swipe at New Delhi as well and asked what was the point of saying repeatedly that `we cannot tolerate terrorism against us anymore'? What after that, he wanted to know.

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