MUMBAI: The Thackeray cousins criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for saying he had forgiven the students who abused him and his mother during the NEET protests, with MNS chief Raj Thackeray urging him to also tell the BJP’s trolls to stop their abuse. “I agree that the language was inappropriate. But you should also say the same thing to people in your party (BJP),” Raj Thackeray said on Saturday. “The way your team of trolls abuses everyone from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and even us. Your team of trolls in different states heaps abuse. Your people are in these groups. The Prime Minister should also tell them to stop it,” he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray said Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should apologise to students and their families for the current situation and the violence during the protests. “The ones who brought this situation upon students – Modi and Amit Shah – should apologise to the students and their families. The way students were beaten with sticks covered with nails, they were attacked with guns and had to face tear gas, the clothes of female students were ripped by policemen,” Uddhav Thackeray said. “What was their demand? That the education system be improved – this was a simple demand,” he added. “What you are doing today – you could have spoken to them on the first day. You are willing to speak to Pakistan. But you refer to the future of our country as cockroaches and as wayward. How will the country progress in that case?” he asked. Modi released a video message on Friday night, saying he had forgiven the students who had abused him. “Some mischievous children used vulgar abuses that do not belong in civilised society. Not just me, my departed mother was also abused. One does not know the extent of this. Mistakes occur during childhood, but it also provides an opportunity for change,” he said in the message. “These children are misguided and it is our job to show them the way. To punish them and make them take the rounds of courts will not let us change the circumstances,” Modi said.
