GVL Narasimha Rao slams Shiv Sena, says 'The party should change its name to Burqa Sena'

BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao on Thursday slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Shiv Sena for joining hands with Congress and NCP. Attacking the party, Rao said that Shiv Sena should change its name to 'Burqa Sena'. He said, "Sena should change its name. It would be an insult to Lord Shiva. He should call it Burqa Sena."

He further said, "Shiv Sena and Uddhav Thackeray have completely surrendered to the appeasement politics of Congress and NCP. Today, they have completely given up on the Hindutva ideology for the sake of vote bank politics. Today, Shiv Sena- the name itself is a misnomer for Uddhav's party. I will not even call him Uddhav 'Thackeray' because 'Thackeray' represented a particular ideology. Shiv Sena is increasingly behaving like 'Burqa Sena' because Uddhav has now sacrificed saffron for clothing the ideology in the burqa." 

Raj vs Uddhav tussle

Eyeing the 'Hindutva' legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray, the fight between Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has heated up.Taking a turn towards Hindutva ideology, the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena will announce its new ideology during its mega rally on January 23. Earlier in the day, the party also launched its new 'Saffron' party flag that has 'Raj Mudra' (stamps) which were used during Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's rule. 

Read: Chavan defends 'formed govt after Muslims said' as BJP slams 'Muslim League Congress'

On the other hand, Shiv Sena countered the move and announced Uddhav Thackeray's visit to Ayodhya after completing 100 days as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has also invited Congress and NCP leaders to Ayodhya. 

Read: BJP Minister Balyan seeks 10% quota for West UP at JNU & Jamia; threatens 'we'll handle'

Amit Thackeray enters mainstream politics

Raj Thackeray's son, Amit Thackeray on Thursday entered mainstream politics. This comes at the time when Raj Thackeray's MNS is eyeing to revamp the party and adopt the Hindutva ideology, to fill the vacuum left by cousin Uddhav Thackeray's party- Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. 

Read: Sandeep Dikshit calls MNS 'Break-away group', dismisses claims of rift with Shiv Sena

Read: GVL Narasimha Rao pulls out 'radicals' for anti-CAA stir, says 'real target is Ram Mandir'