Mumbai: The Shiv Sena likened its one-time ally BJP to 13th century invader Muhammad Ghori who killed Prithviraj Chauhan despite the legendary king sparing his life several times.
In a hard-hitting editorial Tuesday in its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, the Shiv Sena said it would ‘uproot’ the BJP as the latter had dared to ‘challenge’ us’, claiming the ruling party’s ‘leaders were kids’ when the Sena’s support helped form the NDA.
The two parties, who fought Assembly polls together in Maharashtra and came up with 161 seats jointly in the 288-member House, fell out on the sharing of the chief minister’s post and have since been attacking each other. The Sena is in talks with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) currently to form a non-BJP government in the Maharashtra.
In the editorial, the Sena said, “Muhammad of Ghor, said to have laid the foundation of Islamic rule in India, fought several battles with Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan and the latter always spared him (after defeat). But when the invader won a battle, he killed Prihtviraj Chauhan. Even in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has spared such ungrateful people several times and now they are trying to back-stab us.”
The editorial also lashed out at Shiv Sena being allotted seats on the opposition side in both houses of Parliament, as announced Sunday Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. He had said the decision was made as the Sena’s minister – Arvind Sawant – had resigned from the Union government and the party was ‘working out’ an alliance with the Congress and the NCP to form the government in Maharashtra.
“Who decided our sitting arrangement when there was no meeting of the NDA held for the same? Earlier, Lal Krishna Advani was the chief of the NDA and George Fernandes was its convener. Who is the chief and convener of the NDA today?” the Sena asked in the editorial.
It also asked if other constituents of the NDA were informed before the Sena was shown the door, claiming such decisions were earlier taken after all parties arrived at a consensus.
The party pointed out that the date chosen to move the Sena to the opposition benches coincided with the seventh death anniversary of party founder Bal Thackeray (November 17). This haste will result in some serious accident for sure,” the editorial warned.
“It is the beginning of the end of politics of arrogance. We promise you we will uproot you one day as you have challenged us. The heads of the party (BJP) today would have been kids when the Sena supported the BJP to form the National Democratic Alliance,” the editorial further said.
In another development, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut asserted that the party will form the government in Maharashtra with the help of the NCP and Congress. Raut had a late night meeting Monday with Sharad Pawar after which he made the statement to mediapersons.
Agencies