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The Kumar Ketkar Chat

Dear Mr Hattangdy and Bhoumic: Congress party is polio struck nationally as well as in the state. Mr Pawar is not the sole reason for this though he contributed to the destruction of the party organisation in Maharastra. The mass base of the Congress now is quite divided and unlikely to come back to the party en block. It is not fear of Pawar that keeps BJP and Sena together . They are together because they are afraid that individually they will fall. Pawar is not a threat also because he himself has become a sort of burden on Congress which is so miserably divided that it cannot pull itself together even if the prize of the unity is power. Their egos, petty games and groupism has gone beyond redemption. If they come to power again they too will have to form an alliance for forming government. Time for their own power is passe`.

Jai India: I don't think Anna Hazare is corrupt. He is naive and even foolish. Only difference is that he is not seeking any personal gain or power from the agitation. The reason he keeps on shifting positions is because he does not comprehend the nature of politics as well as mass mood. He has also not understood why he has suddenly became so popular.

Sometime back, when the talk about changing Bombay to Mumbai was going on, I had read Bejan Daruvala"s warning that numerically, Bombay was a better name, for growth and prosperity....while Mumbai would see the city fall to its worst possible nadir, and then finally invite destruction by fire. Do you think this will come to pass? The decadence has already set in..... don't you think?

SS had promoted the idea of Sons of soil policy in case of employment, but why is it that people of Vidharbha (where Dy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde hails) has been alienated and there has been calls for seperate Vidharbha state ?

Avinash Chitre: In the sixties the Americans were surely helping the right wing and fanatic anti communist organisations. But let us not grant them credit or (discredit) for building an organisation like the Shiv Sena. The SS came on the scene at almost the same time when the DMK youth was burning railway stations protesting against Hindi, the Sikh youth was demanding autonomy to Punjabi Sabha, the Bengali's were confronting the rule of Delhi and so on. Shiv Sena was formed on the basis of wide spread resentment against the economic decline. Neither the so called socialist planning had offered them hope nor the capitalism provided any solution to the problems of unemployment , poverty and landlessness. It was in this vaccum that the SS came into existence. It would have grown even without the American support and therefore the so called CIA hand , if any was only incidental in the growth of SS.

Sometime back, when the talk about changing Bombay to Mumbai was going on, I had read Bejan Daruvala"s warning that numerically, Bombay was a better name, for growth and prosperity....while Mumbai would see the city fall to its worst possible nadir, and then finally invite destruction by fire. Do you think this will come to pass? The decadence has already set in..... don't you think? PLease comment

SS had promoted the idea of Sons of soil policy in case of employment, but why is it that people of Vidharbha (where Dy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde hails) has been alienated and there has been calls for seperate Vidharbha state ?

Dear Soumya: The seperate Vidharbha state is not a new demand nor is the feeling of alienation among the Vidharbhaites recent. Moreover let us be fair. The BJP has always demanded smaller states and the demand for Vidharbha is only one of many, Indeed the hallmark of BJP opportunism is that while the Sena is committed to the united state of Maharshtra, the BJP despite its support shamelessly clings to the alliance. That Munde belongs to the Vidharbha is accidental. Many Congressmen and Hindu Maha Sabha from 1960's have been seeking Vidharbha state. The Congress too is divided on the issue.

SS had promoted the idea of Sons of soil policy in case of employment, but why is it that people of Vidharbha (where Dy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde hails) has been alienated and there has been calls for seperate Vidharbha state ?

Kesari: The name of the city does not lead to its destruction or its growth. It is the people, their culture and self confidence, unfortunately that self confidence is at nadir today.

Dear Chota rashtra: Without being chauvinist, Maharashtra is Mahan, with or without Thackeray , only difference is that Thackeray's are shrinking the MAHANness of the people . But the people will rise again and show how Mahan they are.

What do you foresee as Maharashtra's & India's role in the world in the new century?

SS had promoted the idea of Sons of soil policy in case of employment, but why is it that people of Vidharbha (where Dy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde hails) has been alienated and there has been calls for seperate Vidharbha state ?

Thank you, Mr KLetkar, for answering my questions. Good night!

Do you see any erosion of support for Congress in the sugar lobby (which were promoted by Late Vasantadada Patil)?

Is there any new political party in the offing that you foresee a new beginning for our dear state?

Do you see any erosion of support for Congress in the sugar lobby (which were promoted by Late Vasantadada Patil)?

What do you foresee as Maharashtra's & India's role in the world in the new century? Is there any new political party in the offing that you foresee a new beginning for our dear state? Soumya K Bhowmic (Fri Feb 21 21:26:13 1997 IST): Do you see any erosion of support for Congress in the sugar lobby (which were promoted by Late Vasantadada Patil)? Avinash Chitre (Fri Feb 21 21:25:43 1997 IST): Thank you, Mr KLetkar, for answering my questions. Good night! Soumya K Bhowmic (Fri Feb 21 21:23:14 1997 IST): SS had promoted the idea of Sons of soil policy in case of employment, but why is it that people of Vidharbha (where Dy Chief Minister Gopinath Munde hails) has been alienated and there has been calls for seperate Vidharbha state ? Kesari (Fri Feb 21 21:22:42 1997 IST):

Well guys, before winding up I merely want to say that I have no grouse or prejudice against any party and my concern is only for the people of Maharshtra and of course India and it is thse people who are being betrayed by the present alliance. In the most brutal fashion. The Congress is not a paragon of virtue, but it is atleast a party with glorious and healthy past. To its credit it ruled India forty six out of 50 years and kept the country together. The kind of rulers we see in Delhi and in Mumbai today - Well if these types were in power the country would have been disintegrated a long time ago. The Congress of course has a lot to answer but much less than all the opposition parties who have proved to be narrow, petty, no less corrupt , inefficient and without any program of action for any state or for the country. The Congress therefore is a preferable Devil than the evil that we see today in the UF in Delhi and the SS-BJP in Mumbai. We can wish ourselves good luck and not give up hope in a situation which can easily make us feel nihilist and hopeless. Thanks and Goodnight.

Good night Mr Kumar, Thanks for chatting with us.

Do you see any erosion of support for Congress in the sugar lobby (which were promoted by Late Vasantadada Patil)?

If a journalist with strong political views is also a journalist, does it lead to conflict of interest? You writings are pro-leftist. So if you critisize an anti-leftist party, people may take it with a pinch of salt. What do you think?

If a journalist with strong political views is also a journalist, does it lead to conflict of interest? You writings are pro-leftist. So if you critisize an anti-leftist party, people may take it with a pinch of salt. What do you think?

Don't you see a contradiction in the economic policies followed by the country itself as a whole... while in opposition its always socialism or somesuch concoction and suddenly when in the portals of power, they overnight become reborn capitalists.... take for examle Jyoti Basu, a reborn capitalist but whose party always speaks of socialsim or whatever is left of it..... it is a terrible contradiction which has left west bengal to be what it is....

Don't you see a contradiction in the economic policies followed by the country itself as a whole... while in opposition its always socialism or somesuch concoction and suddenly when in the portals of power, they overnight become reborn capitalists.... take for examle Jyoti Basu, a reborn capitalist but whose party always speaks of socialsim or whatever is left of it..... it is a terrible contradiction which has left west bengal to be what it is....