Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani has to be congratulated for his forthright statement denouncing the current trend of chauvinism being exhibited in Maharashtra. Mumbai, Ambani said, is for everyone and not just for Maharashtrians. While others like Shah Rukh Khan have also taken on the Shiv Sena — Khan took on the Sena in the context of the lack of bids for Pakistan players in the IPL — in the past, they have tended to backtrack. Khan has already been quoted in the media as saying he had been misquoted. When top industrialists take on such stands, this augurs well for the country. India’s biggest problem so far has been that few people at the top take a stand on issues that concern the public.
During the Gujarat riots, a few top industrialists took a stand, and the impact of this was there for everyone to see. The BJP’s top brass had no option but to start distancing itself from Modi.
Rajiv Vij, New Delhi
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