Last week, after the saffron party forced the cancellation of a performance by Pakistani musician Ghulam Ali, it threatened to launch a "Sena-style protest" against the Kasuri event. Kulkarni had reportedly met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray at his home on Monday night and asked him to allow the book launch to proceed. But Thackeray refused to back down.
"I have requested Uddhav Thackeray that Shiv Sena should not oppose the book launch event,” Kulkarni was quoted as saying in news reports. “I also told him that the event will proceed despite Sena's threat."
The ink attack, says Kulkarni, was perpetrated by a group of 10 to 15 men wearing saffron sashes and shouting "Shiv Sena zindabad" as they surrounded him outside his car. "They caught me, shouted slogans, called me a rashtradrohi (traitor to the country) and threw black ink on me," said Kulkarni, who also displayed his blackened tricolour lapel badge. "This attack doesn't bother me but it is an insult to the tricolour and to democracy."
Soon after the attack, Kasuri addressed a press conference with ink-smeared Kulkarni to condemn the act by the political outfit and promised that the book launch event would proceed.
“As a politician, I understand the right to protest. But as long as it is peaceful it is justified,” Kasuri told reporters. “What happened with Kulkarni is not right. I am not here to fight. I am here to spread the message of peace. I have been invited here, and I won’t let down the people who have invited me,” he added.
In response, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut said that the ink throwing incident was a “mild” form of protest. "Ink attack on Kulkarni is a mild reaction from Sena, this is not ink but the blood of our soldiers,” he said.
It's a mild reaction, says Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on ink thrown at Sudheendra Kulkarni pic.twitter.com/Qv1J6IB7Vf
— ANI (@ANI_news) October 12, 2015
Kulkarni, meanwhile, took to Twitter to praise Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party for standing against its ally, the Shiv Sena, and promising to allow the event to proceed.
I profusely thank MaharashtraCM @Dev_Fadnavis for his principled & firm stand against #ShivSena threat to disurpt #Kasuri booklaunch #Mumbai
— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) October 12, 2015
न धमकी से, न बॉम्ब-बंदूक से, न गोली से, बात बनेगी बोली से I #Mumbai supports India-#Pakistan dialogue for peace. pic.twitter.com/vViRpyXkmr
— Sudheendra Kulkarni (@SudheenKulkarni) October 12, 2015
Condemnation of the attack followed swiftly.
AAP strongly condemns the blackening of face of Sudhindra Kulkarni.The space for open debate is shrinking.This is serious.This is fascism.
— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) October 12, 2015
I strongly condemn whosoever has done this-LK Advani on Sudheendra Kulkarni
— ANI (@ANI_news) October 12, 2015
High condemnable and childish act by #ShivSena by throwing ink on @SudheenKulkarni . Will Maha CM @Dev_Fadnavis dare to act on its ally?
— Tinu Cherian Abraham (@tinucherian) October 12, 2015
Black day for Mumbai. Utterly shameful especially for a global city. Shiv Sena vandals in cahoot with BJP
— Milind Deora (@milinddeora) October 12, 2015
"Rashtrabhakti" Shiv Sena style. #Shame and #Shameless
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) October 12, 2015
"Rashtrabhakti" Shiv Sena style. #Shame and #Shameless
— Smita Prakash (@smitaprakash) October 12, 2015
Mumbai gets ever worse https://t.co/LiMmNTzYle
— Mihir Sharma (@mihirssharma) October 12, 2015
Times Now says "Can't get lower than this!" on Sudheendra Kulkarni episode. Shiv Sena will take that as a challenge.
— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) October 12, 2015
Someone somewhere is right now compiling data on all ink attacks from the 11th century onwards to ask why you weren't outraged earlier
— Tony Joseph (@tjoseph0010) October 12, 2015
What an utter disgrace. Shiv Sena, you're in the government, pls remember https://t.co/wTxoIjXyjC
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) October 12, 2015
The speech writer of a former PM. Same party in centre now, same party in state. Party's fav ally does this to him. pic.twitter.com/n4AATSjvHE
— वरुण (@varungrover) October 12, 2015