The BJP’s ally, Shiv Sena, has responded positively to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposed protest march to Rashtrapati Bhavan against demonetisation.
Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, after convening a meeting of party parliamentarians on Tuesday, confirmed joining the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in the protest in the 'larger public interest'. Earlier, the TMC chief had allegeldy called up Mr Thackeray requesting him to join a delegation of the opposition parties likely to meet the President on Wednesday.
‘In public interest’"If Modi can team up with Sharad Pawar then why cannot the Shiv Sena go with Mamata Banerjee? We are not against the Prime Minster but going with Banerjee to the President in larger public interest,” Mr Thackeray said after the meeting at Mathoshree. The Sena chief had earlier last week called up Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressing concerns over the inconvenience caused to the common man following the demonetisation exercise.
Senior Sena leaders said the party will present a slew of demands to the President, including a just and fair implementation of the move, increase in withdrawal limits and permission to continue transactions at district banks. The Sena delegation will include 18 Lok Sabha members and two from Rajya Sabha, sources in the party said. “We are concerned that the move is affecting people in the rural areas severely because rural banks don't have enough cash to dispense,” said Sena MP and senior leader Arvind Sawant.
Clarifying the party’s stand further, MP Sanjay Raut said the party does not intend to gain any political mileage out of the problems of the common man. “This is not a political issue, but a matter concerning as many as 125 crore people of this country. Uddhavji has spoken to the TMC chief over phone and told her Sena cannot keep quiet when the common man is suffering,” he told reporters before the meeting.
BJP annoyedMeanwhile, the BJP reacted sharply to the Shiv Sena’s decision, with party national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh saying the BJP was disappointed at not getting the support of its long time ally in its “war against black money.”
“In the war against black money, if the Shiv Sena was standing next to Prime Minister Modi, it would have been a welcome thing; we want to believe that the Shiv Sena will, ultimately, decide to be on the side of development and cleaning up corruption,” he said.
Party spokesperson G.V.L Narasimha Rao had stronger words. “The Shiv Sena as an ally, a partner in government is party to the collective decision-making that marks the system of government. If they join any group against a decision taken by the Cabinet and the NDA group as whole then it is demonstration of political expediency,” he said.
At a meeting of NDA allies on Monday, the Shiv Sena had put forward its views on the suffering of people on account of demonetisation, but had also hailed the “historic” decision by the government.
