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Only 'might is right' now in Maharashtra

Jayantrao Tilak, leader of the legislative council and Lokmanya Tilak's grandson, says the political climate in Maharashtra has deteriorated so much that ''we have forgotten the lok (people) in lokshahi (democracy). Using Shivaji's name, the state seems to be justifying its 'might is right' outlook.''

He was speaking at a function to release a book, Mumbai: Kakhi Ani Aajchi (Mumbai: yesterday and today) written by socialist Baburao Samant.

Samant said Bombay was like a elephantiasis-affected person. ''The patient's legs look ugly, and he cannot take the next step quickly. This is the condition of Bombay today.''

Samant said Bombay's decadence began in 1972-73, when the Backbay Reclamation project was completed and in 1976 with the enactment of Maximum Land Ownership Act. The new law, he elaborated, allowed greedy bureaucrats and politicians to make a killing instead of allowing the state government to stake its claim to 18,000 to 20,000 acres of land.

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