The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : MNS hate politics

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Thursday, Oct 30, 2008
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Opinion - Letters to the Editor

MNS hate politics

On the eve of Deepavali, two incidents occurred in Maharashtra which exposed the ugly face of hate politics. Twenty-three-year-old Rahul Raj was gunned down in broad daylight by the brave Mumbai police. According to media reports, he wanted to raise his voice against the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and its leader Raj Thackeray for orchestrating violence against north Indians in the State. The second incident was the lynching of Dharam Dev, resident of Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday by fellow commuters on a local train in Mumbai. That our society is becoming increasingly intolerant is evident from the fact that he was lynched just because he was from U.P.

Why did Rahul Raj raise his voice in the manner he did? Because the situation is such that people can no longer put across their views by peaceful means.

Prithul Lochan,

Bangalore

This is not to justify Rahul’s action but certainly there was a strong message in it for the country. Why did it happen? Is society fast losing faith in the government and the law? The Maharashtra government should have acted much earlier when the crisis was brewing. To avoid such tragedies in future, the state must deal strictly with divisive forces.

Ankur Goyal,

New Delhi

The gunning down of Rahul Raj was unfortunate and shocking. But whatever the reason behind his desperate act, it was wrong. The repercussions of the MNS attacks on north Indians are becoming more and more vicious.

P. Senthil Saravana Durai,

Vazhavallan

The Rahul episode shows how frustrated and angry the young man was over the Maharashtra government’s inaction and failure to prevent the MNS targeting people from Bihar. Had he been serious about killing Raj Thackeray, he would not have held the passengers hostage and asked for the MNS leader’s address openly.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil’s remark that those who take the law into their own hands deserve to be shot is amusing. The MNS held Mumbai to ransom for days with the government watching the macabre dance of the party goons. Had the State government reined in Raj Thackeray in time, the situation would not have taken such an ugly turn.

Satwant Kaur,

Mahilpur

The high-level probe ordered by the Maharashtra government into the gunning down of Rahul Raj is welcome. It will establish that the police had no option other than shooting him. It is easy to dissect the incident now and criticise the police. What if the gun-wielding youth had killed a few passengers? Would not the police have been accused of inaction then?

Viraj Deshpande,

Thane

Police action against a man with a gun should be the same, whether he is a Bihari or Mumbaikar. He is a plain criminal and deserves to be restrained. The method of restraining him would depend on the exigency of the situation. Whether to apprehend a man who has a weapon, or shoot him down should be left to the police who are on the spot. Rahul was reportedly wearing a bullet-proof vest which clearly shows that he planned the incident with deliberate intent.

S. Kamat,

Bardez

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MNS hate politics