Raj Thackeray: Founder and chief of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

The political unrest mushrooming up in Mumbai recently has been keeping most of Mumbaikars on their tips and toes. The episode reaches an attainable peak today when the Mumbai Police arrested the founder and chief of the Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MNS) (formed in March, 2006) — Raj Thackeray. However, this arrest was not a surprise for anybody including Raj himself and it is reported that he was prepared for the same.

The recent Issue in Mumbai

Very early this month, there were incidents in Mumbai after Raj Thackeray’s controversial remarks about the ‘migrant’ population from the North Indian States — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar. The MNS party activists clashed with the Samajwadi Party (an Uttar Pradesh party).

In the whole melee, Bollywood superstar, Amitabh Bachchan was criticized — “taking more interest in Uttar Pradesh than Maharashtra,” in spite of achieving his fame and fortune in Mumbai, Maharastra. Amitabh in retaliation stated that he would leave Mumbai if it was proved that he has not done more for Maharastra than for Uttar Pradesh.

Amitabh’s close friend and Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh said,

Let Thackeray come out with a list, what all Amitabh Bachchan has done for UP and what all he has done for Maharashtra. If he has not done much more for Maharashtra, where he is residing, then on his behalf I am saying, he will leave Mumbai.

Mumbai Police arrest Raj Thackeray

The Maharashtra Government had requisitioned paramilitary forces to meet any eventuality and security has been beefed in different parts of the city in case they are arrested. The state authorities had started deploying Central paramilitary forces from Tuesday evening in Mumbai and other key cities across the state in anticipation violence. A few companies of Rapid Action Force and four companies of Central Reserve Police Force have also been deployed in Mumbai.

There were incidents of stone pelting and assault in different parts of the state — including Nashik, Pune, Jalna, Beed, Aurangabad and Latur towns – on Tuesday in protest against the police action. MSN activists also targeted public property including state transport buses in most of the cases.

Late afternoon today, the 13th Feb, 2008, Thackeray along with Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi was arrested by the Mumbai Police on charges of inciting people. Political Think Tanks have interpreted these developments as an attempt by Thackeray to move into the limelight, and strike at the Shiv Sena, which was trying to woo north Indian votes. He may not seek bail as his detention is likely to fuel the anti-north Indian campaign and help his party consolidate the Marathi votebank.

Earlier today, many MNS supporters and activists were arrested in Maharastra for indulging in violence and as a pre-emptive measure against an impending communal riot. Mumbai Police had lodged FIR against Thackeray on Monday at the Vikhroli Police Station.

Raj Thackeray

Raj Thackeray, born June 14, 1968, is a Maharashtra politician and the founder and chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. He is the nephew of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray (son of Bal Thackeray’s younger brother Shrikant Thackeray).

Thackeray started his political career with the right wing Shiv Sena party of Maharashtra. Raj Thackeray resigned from the party in December 2005 and announced that he would form his own party. He formed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena in March 2006.

He is a commercial arts graduate from the JJ School of Art, became an office-bearer of Shiv Sena in 1988. He formed the Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, Shiv Sena’s student outfit. His political career suffered a setback in 1996 when his name came up in the murder case of a tenant from Pune, Ramesh Kini. The CBI, however, cleared him of any involvement.

Well, personally, I can understand the part of the political tactics and it is their prerogative to do their political acrobatic somersault — I just wish that the common people are not made collateral in violent incidents and that peace is maintained. Isn’t it very uncivilized, in-human, down-right immature and savage to resort to communal fights in the 21st Century modern world. It is also surprising tha a city like Mumbai still don’t have a proper and tactical response mechanism to thwart-off such jungle-culture incidents.

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Photo from the Internet

Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto, a Pakistani politician, was the first woman elected to lead the country

Though initially reported being safe and unhurt, Benazir Bhutto was later confirmed dead when her husband told television reporters that his wife was “badly injured”. News reports says that the assassination took place when a gunman fired while a suicide bomber detonated as Bhutto was leaving the venue for the political party she - the Pakistan People’s Party - that took place today (27th Dec, 2007) at Rawalpindi. The suicide attack killed around 20 others, and witnesses said that bodies were scattered across Liaqat Bagh park where the rally had taken place. Some of the dead are thought to have been police officers.

On hearing the reports of the attack and the eventual death, supporters broke hospital’s glass doors, threw stones at cars, and reportedly chanted against Musharraf outside the hospital. Others attacked police, burned election campaign posters and tires. Some opposition groups said that the assassination could lead to civil war, and other commentators said that the upcoming elections will likely be postponed.

Demonstrations are widespread in Pakistan with the police using tear gas and batons to break angry demonstrators in Peshawar. Some protesters torched the billboards of Pervez Musharraf, firing in the air and screaming. Protests in Multan also had protesters burning tires and blocking traffic. Similar scenes were witnessed in Karachi, Bhutto’s hometown.

Earlier there were few assassination attempts on her life. En route to a rally in Karachi on 18 Oct 2007, two explosions occurred shortly after Bhutto had landed and left Jinnah International Airport. She was not injured but the explosions, later found to be a suicide-bomb attack, killed 136 people and injured at least 450. The dead included at least 50 of the security guards from her Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) who had formed a human chain around her truck to keep potential bombers away, as well as 6 police officers. A number of senior officials were injured. Bhutto was escorted unharmed from the scene.

Benazir Bhutto, born on 21st June 1953, was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state - Pakistan. She was elected twice as Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was sworn in for the first time in 1988 but removed from office 20 months later under orders of then-president Ghulam Ishaq Khan on grounds of alleged corruption. In 1993 Bhutto was re-elected but was again removed in 1996 on similar charges, this time by President Farooq Leghari.

Her father, former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was hanged in 1979 by Pakistan’s then dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. Two of her brothers were assassinated.

Bhutto went into self-imposed exile in Dubai in 1998, where she remained until she returned to Pakistan on October 18, 2007, after reaching an understanding with General Musharraf by which she was granted amnesty and all corruption charges were withdrawn.

UPDATES

28th Dec, 2007

An Al-Qaeda leader based in Afghanistan has claimed responsibility for the assassination of former Pakistan Premier Benazir Bhutto, whom he described as “the most precious American asset”. “We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat (the) ‘mujahadeen’,” Al-Qaeda Commander and spokesman Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told the Italian news agency Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location.

Al-Yazid was described by AKI as the “main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan”. It reported that the decision to kill Bhutto was made by al-Qaeda No. Two, Ayman al-Zawahiri in October.

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NDTV has an article with regards to the same - Tehelka expose: Modi should go, says Cong.

Via: Digg and NDTV

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