Going a step further in its war against Narayan Rane, the Shiv Sena released a spoof advertisement against the newlyinducted Congressman in Saamna, the partys mouthpiece, on Thursday.
What the spoof says
The spoof, carried prominently on the front page, features a caricature of
Narayan Rane, but with a distinctive thug-like face. Below the caricature is a detailed ad, which seeks applications to contest against him in Malwan and Kankavli, Ranes home pitch.
Battle for Malvan
Clearly, the Sena is going all out against Rane, who will contest a bypoll from Malvan in November. The party does not have a candidate who would like to take on Rane. Knowing this full well, Rane had challenged Bal Thackeray to ask his son, Uddhav, to file a nomination against him.
Veiled ad
The ad, without naming Rane, refers to the killing of Congress activist Sridhar Naik in the 90s, in which Rane was one of the accused. Rane was held not guilty in the case that went on even after he became a revenue minister.
The address
The address in the spoof, is an imaginary one, (Behrampada, Hanya Chamber, Malmalkar Marg, Road no 420, Chembur), but is pregnant with meaning.
Srikant Sarmalkar, another Sena rebel, accused of sending goons is from Behrampada, while Hanya Chamber in the address comes from the Hanya-Narya gang, another reference to Ranes alleged past, who has been a resident of Chembur for long.
Rane claimed he hadnt seen the newspaper as he had stopped reading Saamna, after the tirade against him.
But when we read out the spoof, Rane bitterly said, If what they are trying to insinuate is true and if they knew it all along, why was I made the chief minister? They are plummeting to new depths every day. I cant match them in this.
He later added that he would seek legal advice on the issue to restrain the Shiv Sena from character assassination.
Idea was teamwork
Saamnas executive editor and Rajyasabha MP, Sanjay Raut, claimed the idea was a result of teamwork and refused to reveal who drew the caricature.
The lines are familiar, take a guess, he chuckled. On a serious note, Raut said Saamna readers, most of whom are loyal Sainiks, had responded positively and soon the spoof would turn into posters, which would be pasted all over.
This is what the spoof says
Need a courageous candidate to give a tough fight in Malwan and Kankavli against a person who looks like the one above.
Conditions:
1. Needs to be a gangster who can kill with finesse and then get away with it by hush money. Experienced men will be given preference.
2. Someone who has become Gabbar Singh because of his money, all of which has been attained thanks to his high offices in the Shiv Sena. The same person is now buying off MLAs and corporators.
3. Launching cowardly attacks on his opponents through his gangs and creating a reign of terror in his constituency.
4. Holding all the important posts in a party for 39 years and then joining another party by switching loyalties in a flash.
5. Someone who slits his parents throats for the lure of a chair
A person with the above virtues may please contact us immediately.
Address: Behrampada, Hanya Chamber, Malmalkar Marg, Road no 420, Chembur
