MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena has rolled up its sleeves against the BJP on the Zakir Naik issue.
Saamna on Monday urged the Centre and the Maharashtra government to put the controversial Islamic preacher behind bars and dismantle his organization.
The Sena mouthpiece has also demanded a worldwide ban on Naik’s Peace TV. The Bangladesh government on Sunday banned telecast of the channel in the country following reports that the televangelist may have inspired some of the Dhaka attackers.
The government shouldn’t defend the anti-nationals should they fall prey to the collective anger of citizens, Saamna warned on Monday. This is an indication that the Sena plans to kick-start a stir for Naik’s arrest in a bid to show the BJP in poor light on the Hindutva issue, said experts.
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray too wants the state to take a hard line on Naik.
Commenting on the Centre’s duplicity in the case, Saamna slammed the national security agencies for coming down heavily on Sanatan Sanstha, while going soft on the preacher. “There seems to be one set of rules for Sanatan Sanstha’ and another for Naik’s Islamic Research Foundation…Having found some religious literature at the Sanatan Sanstha office, CBI lost no time in coming to the conclusion that these documents were inflammatory…However, Naik’s” speeches clearly show that he is encouraging seperatist tendencies in the country,” said Saamna.
“The probe agencies haven’t gone beyond inquiring into the preacher’s speeches,” Saamna stated.
Pointing out that in his ‘peace’ messages, Naik says that every Muslim should be a terrorist, Saamna” said, “By now, Naik should have been arrested and put in Ajmal Kasab’s cell.”
“Stop bragging about bringing Dawood Ibrahim and Tiger Memon back. First crush Naik…He is trying to create a split in the country and set up an Islamic State on our soil,” stated the newspaper.