Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP

But Raut has a solution to offer. Muslims, he writes, should be denied the right to vote for their own welfare, and members of their community should take the initiative on this. How does an elected representative, even one of a party that has gained electorally from its apparent attempts to bully and bash Muslims and other minorities, publish such a vulgar and perverse view?

The Shiv Sena has been trying to project a more accommodating image in the recent past, such as its promised support for nightlife in Mumbai. But Raut, with his brazen suggestion, has taken the party back to its dark ages.