Shiv Sena slams BJP for targeting opponents

In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said the BJP will also have to face the music once the parties in the Opposition come to power at the Centre

Mumbai: Maharashtra’s ruling Shiv Sena on Wednesday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for targeting political opponents and said Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested late last month in a money laundering case, is not the only victim of its vendetta politics.

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In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said the BJP will also have to face the music once the parties in the Opposition come to power at the Centre. “Jain is not the only victim of vindictive politics. Across the country, wherever somebody launches a stiff opposition to the BJP, he is targeted. The Modi government’s message is that surrender or go to prison... Action can be taken against Satyendar Jain, [Maharashtra minister] Nawab Malik, and [Nationalists Congress Party leader] Anil Deshmukh but...not allowing bail is vindictiveness.”

It said those who do not dance to the tunes of the BJP are being imprisoned with the help of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The Sena echoed Aam Aadmi Party’s allegation that action against Jain was taken as he is the party in charge of the Himachal Pradesh polls. “Elections are going to take place in Himachal Pradesh. Satyendar Jain was given the responsibility for the party and elections in the state. Jain put up a challenge for BJP in Himachal. That is why the BJP sent him to jail in an eight-year-old case using the ED.”