Training guns at the Shiv Sena chief over party mouthpiece 'Saamana' carrying a controversial cartoon, Congress said today that by not tendering an apology Uddhav Thackeray was evading responsibility on a serious issue.
Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said he was not surprised with Thackeray's refusal to apologise for the controversial cartoon.
Addressing a press conference here, he said, in the past Thackeray had not shown the large-heartedness to convert his family residence 'Matoshree' into a memorial of his father -- the late Bal Thackeray.
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"How can he (then) apologise to the people over the cartoon," Vikhe-Patil, the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, said.
"Saamana is the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena. Marathas and the women expected Uddhav Thackeray to express regret and apologise. But by making only the cartoonist apologise, the Sena chief has tried to wash his hands of the matter and evade responsibility," the Congress leader said.
Thackeray was not ready to understand the seriousness of the situation, he said, adding, "Perhaps he does not know that apologising does not make one a small person."
Vikhe-Patil also claimed that there was unrest in the Sena rank and file over the issue.
Yesterday Saamana's office in Sanpada near here was stoned by some people over the cartoon it had carried alluding to the ongoing rallies of the Maratha community.
The concerned cartoonist today expressed regret for his work.
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