Thackeray hits out at BJP for high-handed trolling tactics
mumbai — MNS President Raj Thackeray has offered “help” to all, including mediapersons, who have recently been slapped with police notices to explain social media posts.
“All those who have received or may receive such notices in future, please feel free to write to me along with the FIR copy. I will personally look into what needs to be done,” Thackeray said on his official Facebook page.
Many people, including mediapersons, have in the recent past been served police notices in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra ordering them to explain objectionable posts referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Thackeray added that though he admires and supports the police, they (cops) should not harass the common people on the government’s instructions.
“Governments keep changing!” he said. Launching a strong attack on the ruling party at the Centre, he said “what you sow is what you reap” has proved true for the BJP.
“They orchestrated a completely misleading media campaign, whereby tricking the common man with deceit and misinformation. But this very ‘weapon’ of social media the BJP made use of has boomeranged on them,” he said.
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief pointed out how winning the 2014 elections became an obsession where “all principles and ethics were relinquished, false promises were made, truth was distorted and unscrupulous and deceitful means were employed to ignite the public sentiments”.
Thackeray said that journalists and intellectuals who opposed the BJP had to suffer humiliation, adding one actually got disillusioned with the entire gamut of social media.
“You derived immense pleasure in ridiculing other political parties and their leaders but when the tables were turned and you were made the recipient of such slander, the police force was asked to intervene,” Thackeray countered. —