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Autonomy to dominate Sena meeting

Swati Kulkarni in Bombay

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly's demand for autonomy is likely to dominate the Shiv Sena's annual brain-storming meet, which precedes the Maharashtra Assembly's monsoon session.

At the meeting scheduled for July 9, which will be attended by the party's legislators and members of Parliament, the Sena chief, Bal Thackeray, in all probability will launch a scathing attack on J&K chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah for his demand for greater autonomy for his state.

Among the other issues that are likely to dominate the meeting will be the party's deteriorating relationship with the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundry dispute and the Centre's decision to divest its stake in some public sector units.

"The Kashmir issue is bound to top the agenda for the meeting. The Sena chief is bound to express his views on the subject. Besides, the party is equally unhappy over the manner in which the Centre has gone in for disinvestment in some PSUs," said Sena's Rajya Sabha member, Sanjay Nirupam.

The tension between the Sena and its ally the BJP is also likely to surface at the meeting. "The Sena has been asked to be content with less important portfolios despite our numerical strength," Nirupam said.

He, however, clarified that the disagreement was unlikely to cause a split between the two allies. The issue is also expected to come up for discussion during a meeting between the Sena chief and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on July 9.

Sources disclosed that the BJP is trying to arrange a luncheon meeting between the two leaders.

Trade Union leader and Lok Sabha MP, Mohan Rawale, too is sure that the Kashmir issue will dominate the July 9 meeting. "We are bound to raise the Kashmir issue in Parliament too," he said.

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