MUMBAI: Though Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is not contesting the election, the BJP and Shiv Sena are losing sleep over MNS Chief Raj Thackeray’s rallies and his speeches. Now, the BJP has decided to counter Thackeray’s allegations in his own style with the help of videos and presentations.
The MNS is not contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, but Raj Thackeray has still managed to keep his name in the season’s political narrative by donning the avatar of an ‘investigative politician’.
Thackeray has so far addressed at least seven rallies across Maharashtra, highlighting issues on which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government has ‘failed the people’, backing up his claims with facts, figures, archived newspaper clippings, audio clips, videos and a bit of basic old-fashioned field research.
BJP and Shiv Sena leaders have been compelled to take notice and have started hitting back. The BJP has given the responsibility to Education Minister Vinod Tawde to counter Thackeray. According to the party order, Tawade will clarify his party’s stand and counter Thackeray’s attacks.
On Wednesday, Tawde said that the BJP is going to expose Raj Thackeray on April 27 i.e. the last day of the campaign. While refuting Thackeray’s charges, he said that what Raj Thackeray showed in his rally on Tuesday is not on the BJP or Modi or PMO’s official page. “Sambuddha Mitra Mustafi had interviewed the Chile family and wrote an article in ‘New York Times’ in 2013. The article was about how the middle class family Indian did progress in Mumbai, while Mumbai is transforming,” he said.
“The same photo has been carried in a web page known as ‘Pakistan Defense’, I don’t’ understand what is connection in between Raj Thackeray and Pakistan,” he said.
“We will explain all the charges with proof and evidence. We will do presentation of all evidence in the rally to expose Raj Thackeray. The answer will be in his own style with video clips and other evidence,” he said. Commenting on Andra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s allegations over manipulation of EVMs, Tawde said the opposition leaders are searching for reasons for their defeat.
