A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray criticised the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi for ignoring his uncle and Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray, the party has hit back claiming he has no right to talk about the leader.
Addressing a convention of senior citizens in Mumbai, Mr. Thackeray on Sunday criticised Mr. Modi for second time in a month. “Why did he not even mention Balasaheb’s name in his speech in Mumbai? This is despite both the parties being allies for so many years,” said Mr. Thackeray.
He went on to attack Mr. Modi for calling Mumbai ‘a maternal home of Gujaratis.’ “So what is Mumbai for Maharashtrians? He is just unnecessarily bringing up the issue of Samyukta Maharashtra movement,” he added.
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The Samyukta Maharashtra movement in late 50s was responsible for inclusion of Mumbai (then known as Bombay) in Maharashtra and not in Gujarat.
Shiv Sena’s ally BJP has reacted strongly on MNS chief’s comments. “He is a person who was the reason of biggest pain Balasaheb suffered in his lifetime, by splitting the party. What right does he have to talk about Sena chief’s honour?” asked Devendra Fadnavis, President, BJP’s state unit.
He added that, Mr. Thackeray has lost his charisma to attract voters due to Mr. Modi’s wave of popularity. “He is using Mr. Modi’s name to keep his voters intact. But his tactics won’t work this time,” Mr. Fadnavis said.
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Last month, the MNS chief had asked Mr. Modi to have a national outlook instead of harping on Gujarat’s success, as he is aiming to be the prime minister of the country.