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"This
was just the trailer"
An
interview by INDIA TODAY Associate
Editor V Shankar Aiyar.
" The
main show is yet to happen.
We are waiting for the Supreme Court's decision on the Srikrishna Commission
report. "
You
would think the man must be shattered, crestfallen after losing face.
Never in the political history of Maharashtra has a state government had
so much egg on its face. From July 15 to July 25, India's commercial capital
spent ten nerve-wracking days while the government attempted to "uphold
the rule of law" only to get a resounding legal rap. Within his own party
he is dubbed as the man "who promised so much and delivered so little".
But neither Thackeray's release nor the throwing out of the case by the
metropolitan court has dampened the spirit of the pugnacious puglist.
Maharashtra's
deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal
spoke to India Today's Associate Editor V Shankar Aiyar, vowing
to continue and promised in his inimitable style to "do it again."
INDIA
TODAY: Was this whole drama worth it?
Bhujbal: Why are you calling it a drama. It was imperative according
to me to uphold the rule of law, to prove and suffciently so that no man,
howsoever high was above the law. Do you know that 69 per cent of people
polled by one of the major newspapers felt that Thackeray should be arrested.
IT:
But the script seemed to have got changed and didn't proceed quite as
you wrote it?
Bhujbal: I don't agree. He did get arrested. For 30 years he has
been challenging government after government to arrest him. People wanted
to see someone touch him. Look at his statements from July 15. First he
said Mumbai will burn, then Maharashtra and then India. What happened
on July 25? He wanted to surrender. Isn't that significant?
IT:
But he claims he was not arrested. To the public at large he surrendered.
Bhujbal: Not at all. He was arrested and there is no question about
it. Why would we move a remand application if we did not arrest him.
IT:
People want to know: if he was arrested why was it at the Mayor's bungalow?
Why not at his residence Matoshri?
Bhujbal: He was arrested. We simply allowed him to come out of
his den and then proceeded to arrest him. In my view we simply negotiated
the location of the arrest in view of the law and order issue.
IT:
But at the end of the day the case was thrown out. People feel the government
failed....
Bhujbal: Some
people may feel so. But look at it this way. What was my duty? It was
to accord the sanction. What happened in court is okay these things happen
in the legal system. What is more important is that he was arrested. I
think a message has gone that Thackeray can be arrested and that Thackeray
is not above the law. As far as the court case is concerned my government
has been advised that the judgement is highly unusual, perverse, illegal
and unsustainable in law. We are going in appeal.
IT:
You don't agree its a a huge setback for NCP, the government and Chhagan
Bhujbal?
Bhujbal: No.
Not at all. It was unexpected yes but I would not agree that it was a
setback. We have built this confidence in people who believe in democracy
that governments cannot be mute spectators to such a challenge. The myth
of Thackeray being "untouchable" has been shattered.
IT:
The people don't see it so. They feel the government goofed up.
Bhujbal: This was just the trailer, the main show is yet to happen.
The pandora's box is yet to be opened fully. We are waiting for the Supreme
Court's verdict on the SriKrishna Commission report case.
IT: There
are rumblings within your party that this is personal vendetta.
Bhujbal: I don't think so. Nobody has said so. Fortunately my party
and the government is with me. The Congress and the allies are all together
united on this issue and have supported my stand. Even in the cabinet
they said ups and downs are part of the legal process. The government
has to do its duty and bring those breaking the law to court.
IT:
There is some talk about replacing you....
Bhujbal: I haven't heard anything. I am confortable, comfy. There
is absolutely no problem. You see the essential thing is I have staked
my life thrice-first in 1991, then in the Kini case and now. I am not
power hungry. I offered my resignation to both the CM and the party but
it was rejected immediately.
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