Attacking prime minister Narendra Modi for his statement that he would not criticise the Shiv Sena as a mark of respect to its late supremo Bal Thackeray, the Sena also accused its former ally of trying to divide Maharashtra and looting the state treasury.
An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamna, which has party president Uddhav Thackeray as the editor and Rajya Sabha MP and spokesperson Sanjay Raut as the executive editor, said, "It is good if he (Modi) has respect for the Shiv Sena chief. It is welcome. We too respect Narendra Modi. But how did the Shiv Sena- BJP alliance, which had been created on the basis of Hindutva and kept strong by the Shiv Sena chief for 25 years, snap? When the alliance was broken only on the basis of seat-sharing, where had respect for the Shiv Sena chief gone? Infact, not stretching the dispute over seats and showing understanding would have been the true tribute to the Shiv Sena chief. But, this did not happen."
Sena sources said in the run-up to the upcoming assembly polls, the acrimony between the Sena and BJP and the bitterness of the split may come to the fore, and side-track the issues against the outgoing Congress and NCP government.
"The Sainiks feel that it is acceptable to lose power, but the BJP must be taught a lesson for breaking ties," a Sainik said, adding that the party was also trying to capitalise on the Marathi versus Gujarati undercurrent and had also launched a war against their former ally on social media.
The Sainik accused the BJP of "betraying the mandate given in the Lok Sabha elections" when the six-party rainbow coalition swept 42 of Maharashtra's 48 seats, defeating ruling party veterans and leading in 243 of 288 assembly segments.
The editorial also questioned the silence of Modi, BJP national president Amit Shah and BJP leaders from Maharashtra on the injustice being perpetrated on the Marathi-speaking people in the border areas of Karnataka.
The Sena pointed out that Modi had not promised that Vidarbha will not be carved out from the state. "The BJP has entered the fray with a dream to vivisect Maharashtra and for this, the funds from seth-sahukars from the speculative market is being used," the Sena alleged.
"The Congress- NCP have looted Maharashtra but with what noble intent did Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel come to Mumbai? Mrs Patel said that industrialists in Mumbai should not wait in Maharashtra but head to Gujarat and this is also a loot of Maharashtra's treasury. It is frivolous and insulting for Maharashtra to campaign that such thoughts have the blessings of Shivchatrapati (Shivaji Maharaj). Till date, no one has created such a market of Shivchatrapati's blessings," claimed the editorial, adding that these attempts to woo businesses to Gujarat "were worse than looting."
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