Backstabbing allies is BJP’s modus operandi, says Shiv Sena
Whatever “achche din” the BJP is seeing today is because of the Shiv Sena, said an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana.
An editorial in the Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ stated that the Bharaitya Janata Party (BJP) does not respect its allies and friends. It said that backstabbing allies is the ‘modus operandi’ of the BJP.
The editorial added that Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu faced betrayal from the party in the same way that the Sena did in Maharashtra.
The attacks on the BJP came after Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party announced that it may consider quitting the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The Sena recently announced its decision to contest solo in the 2019 elections.
The BJP does not follow ‘yuti-dharma’ or ‘coalition dharma’, said the editorial in the Marathi daily. “On the contrary, it enjoys weakening its allies. The Sena did not allow that to happen in Maharashtra,” the Marathi daily said. “The BJP has been saying the Sena managed to get 18 MPs elected due to the Modi wave in 2014, but the Sena has been sending MPs to the Lok Sabha even before the so-called Modi wave.”
The Sena also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, calling his claim that 600 crore people had elected him into office a “lie.” “Whatever “achche din” the BJP is seeing today is because of the Shiv Sena,” said the article.
The party newspaper is largely believed to reflect party leader Uddhav Thackeray’s views.