Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Pune to kick-start “smart city mission” projects, the ruling Shiv Sena on Friday upped the ante over Maharashtra BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari’s remarks against its president Uddhav Thackeray and warned its senior alliance partner not to forget that the Devendra Fadnavis Government was in existence because of its support.
A day after it took a pot shot at Modi over the NDA Government’s failure to combat the twin issues of price rise and corruption, the Shiv Sena took serious exception to Bhandari’s remark likening Uddhav to actor Asrani in the all-time hit film “Sholay” and said that the party would not tolerate this kind personal criticism of its leaders.
Such was the nature of anger among the Shiv Sainiks that party’s corporator from Mumbai Kishori Pednekar hit back at Bhandari by describing BJP president as “Gabbar Singh” in film “Sholay”. “Given the current goings on in the BJP, I will not be surprised if Shah meets the same fate as Gabbar Singh in the film”Sholay”, Pednekar said, creating a flutter in the
BJP circles.
The Sainiks, meanwhile, staged protests in Mumbai, Nashik and Pune over Bhandari’s remarks against Uddhav. They also burnt the effigy of Bhandari at Nashik.
In an article published in BJP’s mouth-piece “Manogat”, Bhandari had dared the Sena to walk out of the BJP-led alliance in the State and at the Centre. Among other things, Bhandari likened Uddhav the jail (the role played by Asarani) in “Sholay” and said, “In Sholay, the jail orders two sets of his subordinates to go in two different directions only to find that there is no one behind him. Does the Sena president nurse an apprehension that there would not be any MlA left in the party if he decides to walk out of the BJP-led Government in the StateIJ”.
Alluding to Bhandari’s personal criticism of the Sena president, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said: “There are some good-for-nothing people in the BJP who are out to wreck the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in the state. The BJP should not forget that the Fadnavis government is in existence because of the Shiv Sena’s support. If you do not want our support, then you better run the government with the support of the likes NCP leaders like Chhagan Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar and Sunil Tatkare”.
“We will not tolerate this kind of personal criticism of our leader. This kind of criticism of our president Uddhav Thackeray cannot be individual,” Raut said, as he asked the chief minister to clarify the remarks.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra BJP president Raosaheb Patil-Danve sought to cool the tempers of workers in the saffron alliance parties, by saying that the functionaries in the two parties not to use foul language against the leaders of parties.
“For the last one week, the Sena workers are indulging in criticism of the BJP leaders. Similarly, the BJP workers have attacked the Sena leaders. My request to the workers in both parties to show respect to the leaders of other parties, while speaking,” Patil-Danve said.
“If some newspaper publishes a news report against leaders does not mean that it is the stand of the party that comes out with the publication. The newspaper has a right to express its opinion. Once the opinion is expressed, the party workers should exhibit tolerance,” he said.
“Our (BJP-Sena alliance) government in the state will run for full five years. We (BJP and Sena) have been natural allies for the last 25 years. The people in the state want this government to complete its term and they have given their mandate for the same. That’s why I told my party functionaries to refrain from making comments against the Sena leaders. I expect a similar directive to its workers from the Sena leadership,” Patil-Danve said.