Ruckus in Houses over Laine’s book

The Opposition created ruckus in the Legislature on Monday and demanded action against officers and ministers of the Law and Judiciary departments, who did not present the government’s argument well in court in the James Laine case.

The Opposition created ruckus in the Legislature on Monday and demanded action against officers and ministers of the Law and Judiciary departments, who did not present the government’s argument well in court in the James Laine case.

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Home Minister R.R. Patil, however, remained non-committal. The state Assembly and Council saw marathon debates on Laine’s controversial book Shivaji: Hindu King in Islamic India that allegedly has derogatory remarks against the Maratha king.

The Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena have demanded that the book should not be sold in Maharashtra. Patil said the state government would explore legal options to prevent defamatory writing.

“We have formed a committee of three experts, the Advocate General and Secretaries of the Home and Law and Judiciary departments, to advise the government on this,” Patil said.

Patil told the Legislature that the publisher, Oxford University Press, had written to the state government saying it has no intentions of hurting the sentiments of any sections of society.