Emergency: Sena asks Advani who he was hinting at

Seizing on l K Advani's widely- debated comment that an emergency-like situation cannot be ruled out again, Shiv Sena today asked the BJP veteran to speak out his mind if he was pointing at some particular leader when he aired his apprehension.

"When Advani laid down his fear of an Emergency again, he is definitely pointing at somebody. Now the question is who is this person that Advani is hinting atIJ How can his fears be mitigatedIJ" Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' said in an editorial today.

Praising Advani as the "tallest leader" of the country who has seen all seasons and gone through ups and downs, the Sena said, "Even if he is not in the mainstream politics now, BJP leaders and media know that he cannot be ignored and when he said that an emergency-like situation cannot be ruled out again, debates have once again focused on him."

"....One cannot ignore the comment of a senior leader like Advani. If he (Advani) wants to hint at the internal affairs of the BJP, he should clearly speak out. Because in the past, leaders like Murli Manohar Joshi and Kirti Azad too have spoken," the editorial said.

Recalling that Advani was a witness to the Emergency of 1975, when political leaders were jailed without sufficient reasons Sena sought to know what prompted him to think of a similar situation happening again.

"Suddenly after 40 years, what made Advani think that emergency can recur and democracy will be crushedIJ" it asked.

It said that today, media, especially social media, has become stronger than ever and that its difficult to imagine a situation that democracy can once again be crushed.

Advani has created a flutter by stating, in an interview to a leading daily, that "At the present point of time, the forces that can crush democracy notwithstanding the constitutional and legal safeguards are stronger."

"Today, I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. I don't have faith because of its weaknesses. I don't have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again," Advani, now a member of the BJP's Margadarshak Mandal, said.