Uddhav justifies Bhagwat remarks on Hindu nation

August 19, 2014

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday backed Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s comment that India is a Hindu nation, saying the remarks were absolutely right.

“I support the comments made by Mohan Bhagwat. What’s wrong with it, if he calls it (India) a Hindu nation,” asked Mr. Thackeray, while speaking to reporters, at his residence Matoshri in Mumbai.

Mr. Thackeray recalled that his father, the late Bal Thackeray, always called India, a Hindu nation. “How can we change party’s stand today? He always maintained this stand,” he said.

The Sena leader also claimed that he doesn’t need permission from anyone to call India, a Hindu nation. “No one should feel ashamed to call this country a Hindu nation,” he said.

At a programme in Mumbai, Mr. Bhagwat had said that India is a Hindu nation and Hindutva is its identity.

“Hindustan is a Hindu nation… Hindutva is the identity of India and it has the capacity to swallow other identities,” he had said.

Slamming Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan for remarks against scrapping planning commission, Mr. Thackeray asked him to clarify as to what purpose did the commission served over the years.

“He (Mr. Chavan) is unhappy over the decision to scrap the planning commission. But will he be able to tell what purpose it served for the country over the years?” he asked, while supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his announcement on planning commission.

Earlier, several leaders from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) joined the Sena in the presence of Mr. Thackeray. Nephew of Vijaysingh Mohit-Patil, a current NCP MP from Madha, Dhawalsingh Mohite Patil and Congress leader Ashok Chavan’s arch-rival Prataprao Chikhlikar also from the NCP, are among the few who joined the Sena on Tuesday.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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