A retired naval officer who was beaten by Shiv Sainiks for allegedly sharing a satirical cartoon of Maharashtra Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray was asked by the party on Monday whether he was not taught during his tour of duty to respect constitutional authorities. The Sena, condemning the treatment inflicted on the officer, asked what the former marinist Madan Sharma gained by mocking a constitutional authority and if it was part of “national work.”
The Sena, in an editorial in the Saamana party spokesperson, also criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party and asked if the ruling party in the Center will organize protests against the incident in which former military personnel were beaten in states ruled by the BJP and by representatives of the BJP.
“Will [Madan Sharma] receive an award now? the publisher asked. “They speak against the leaders of the state in which you live, win, live happily, and if someone breaks your face, they use ‘injustice, oppression, attack on freedom’ to politicize the issue,” he remarked.
Sharma had allegedly shared a cartoon mocking Prime Minister Thackeray and subsequently Sena shakha pramukh and five other people assaulted him in Kandivali, a northern suburb of Mumbai. The Sena workers were arrested and later released on bail.
“In Mumbai a retired naval officer named Madan Sharma was attacked by the Shiv Sainiks, no one would support him, he should be condemned, but what did the retired officer gain by sharing a satirical cartoon about Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who was elected by the people of the state, ”said Shiv Sena. “Honor the person who holds the Constitutional office, wasn’t this gentleman taught in the Navy?” Sena asked.
The editorial also mocked Defense Minister Rajnath Singh after he called the former military to inquire about his health. Sena said it was surprising that the defense minister spoke to the former Navy member as if sharing a satirical cartoon about a prime minister was a “great national job” he did.
Continuing the attack on the BJP, the editorial analyzed the victim of the lynching case of Dadri, the son of Mohammed Akhlaq who has been in the service of the army, and the lynching case of Amethi in which retired army officer Amanullah was killed. “This incident happened recently in the state ruled by the BJP, but we never read anything about the prime minister or defense minister talking to Amanullah’s wife,” he said.
He added that there have been many unfortunate incidents in the BJP-ruled states, but the national party never took to the streets.
“Earlier, BJP deputy from Jalgaon, Unmesh Patil, forced a Border Security Force soldier, Sonu Mahajan, to vacate his home. Patil’s supporters also attacked Sonu with a sword. Why didn’t the BJP, who took to the streets today for the naval officer, protest in favor of a former soldier at that time? How many attacks on former military personnel have occurred in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar? “Shiv Sena said.
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