The already strained relations between the ruling saffron alliance partners suffered one more major dent on Thursday, with the Shiv Sena training its gun once again on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issues of inflation and corruption and the Maharashtra BJP daring its junior ally to walk out of ruling alliance in the State and at the Centre.
In an editorial published in the party’s official mouth-piece “Saamana”, the Sena paid a left-handed compliment to Modi. On one hand, the Sena heaped praise for bringing around people in 130 countries to perform yoga on the International Yoga day, while on the other the party paid a left-handed compliment by demanding to know if yoga could help people forget the twin issues of price rise and corruption.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told the nation that yoga can control diabetes. Other than controlling diabetes, we would like to know what more can be achieved or has been achieved through Yoga. Will Yoga help the people forget the pain of price rise and corruption in our day-to-day livesIJ,” a sarcastic Sena asked.
“All the same, Prime Minister Modi deserves appreciation because he has prevailed upon people in 130 countries to perform ‘Narendraasan’. As the saying goes Duniya Zukti hain, Zukanewala chahiye, Modi has succeeded in making people in 130 countries lay on the ground,” the Sena editorial said.
“What is now needed is to make Pakistan lie down forever. This can only happen with the help of weapons. Pakistan deserves a permanent ‘Shavaasan’ (a yoga position that involves lying down like a corpse),” the Sena said.
The Sena took a pot shot at the Prime Minister, while commenting on Modi’s role in countries across the world celebrating International Yoga day. It was Modi’s suggestion that the United Nations had last year declared June 21 as the International Day of Yoga.
Not known to take digs at Shiv Sena as often as the Uddhav Thackeray-led party does, the BJP hit out at its saffron alliance partner, by daring the latter to walk out of the Devendra Fadnavis Gover-nment in the State and Modi Government at the Centre.
In an article headlined ‘When are you taking talaqIJ Mr Raut that appeared on Wednesday in the party’s fortnightly publication ‘Manogat’, BJP’s Maharashtra spokesperson Madhav Bhandari dared the Sena to walk out of the ruling saffron alliance. Taking on Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut for his recent ‘Nizam’ remarks, Bhandari said, “On one hand they eat ‘biryani’ in plate given by the same ‘Nizam’ and then criticise us on the other hand. They have got Ministries at the Centre and State, enjoy fruits of power only because of the favour of the same ‘Nizam’ and then curse BJP. This is called ‘ungratefulness’,” the article says.
“If they feel so oppressed by ‘Nizam’, why don’t they just walk out,” Bhandari wrote in his article.