Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray said on Thursday that the Election Commission of India was controlled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah, and that the BJP won elections only due to EVM tampering and illicit wealth.
Addressing party workers in Aurangabad district, Mr. Thackeray said, “There has been a big difference in Mr. Modi since he became Prime Minister. Today, he is not ready to give an answer to the public on any vital issue and prefers to go on foreign tours instead.”
Emergency-like situation
The MNS chief claimed that after the demonetisation move, the BJP had acquired more money.
“As many as 3.5 crore people lost their jobs owing to demonetisation, but this wasn’t allowed to be reported in the media. If this isn’t an Emergency-like situation then what is? I have never witnessed a government that lies so openly. Even the Congress-NCP government was better,” he said.
The MNS president referred to the Aurangabad riots in May to say that the ruling party had orchestrated the violence in the city for political gain.
“I have received intelligence that Wipro was planning to invest ₹2500 crore in Aurangabad before the riots. More industries were going to expand which would have created thousands of jobs … but they all cancelled their projects,” he said.
No development
The MNS leader further claimed that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance would not return to power next year. “Why is Amit Shah talking about building the Ram Mandir now? After four years in power, they failed to bring about any development anywhere across the country. So now to cover up they are raking up the temple issue,” he said.
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, too had criticised BJP over the temple issue during the latter’s visit to Pune recently. The MNS president pointed to the Sena’s “double standards”, and said that the Sena “lacked courage” to vote against the BJP in the no-confidence motion moved by the Telegu Desam Party against the NDA.
Mr. Thackeray also claimed that the BJP’s wins in state elections were due to the party’s policy of importing candidates from the Opposition. “In Tripura, 90 % of the candidates were Congress and Trinamool Congress defectors. The BJP should stop their self-congratulation as they have no candidates of their own,” the MNS chief said.
Mr. Thackeray is on a six-day tour of the Marathwada region to build a base before the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections next year.
The MNS’s performance in recent elections caused many to write it off as a major political force. It won just 13 seats across 10 municipal corporations across the State in the 2017 civic polls.
