Mumbai, Jun 30: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today said lakhs of Shiv Sainiks were his real property while making light of the orders of a Bihar court to attach his properties for failing to appear in a case charging him with publishing a ‘contemptuous' article in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana'.
“My real wealth is the lakhs of Shiv Sainiks and the Marathi masses who respond to my call to battle. Can anyone attach this property? Such a law and court is yet to be created,” Thackeray said in an editorial in ‘Saamana'. “Devotees donate golden crown and gold thrones for Saibaba, the ‘fakir' of Shirdi... My life is like that fakir.
I should get plenty of money, but not to keep it for rotting in Swiss bank but to help the poor generously,” he said. Thackeray recalled his father late Prabodhankar Thackeray showing him heaps of footwear of visitors to their home and telling him that was “real wealth”.
“Now, if anyone is coming to attach this wealth, then this footwear will be a weapon and its imprint of Marathi pride will be on your face,” the Sena chief said. Thackeray's reaction to the court order came two days after Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut called the court orders to attach the Sena chief's property as “joke of the century.” Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate of Ara S B M Tripathy on June 27 ordered issue of warrant for attachment of properties of Thackeray in connection with a complaint lodged by lawyer Rajesh Kumar Singh on March 7, 2008. Singh alleged that Thackeray published the article in ‘Saamana' which had hurt the sentiment and feelings of “crores of Biharis.”
The attachment order was issued following successive ‘failure' of the Sena chief to appear before the court to explain his position in compliance with summons on several occasions earlier. PTI
