Shiv Sena equates 'ungrateful' BJP with Muhammad Ghori's 'treachery'

The Shiv Sena on Tuesday likened its one-time ally BJP to 13th-century invader Muhammad Ghori who killed Prithviraj Chauhan despite the legendary king sparing his life several times. In a hard-hitting editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena said it would "uproot" the BJP as the latter had dared to "challenge us", claiming the ruling party's "leaders were kids" when Sena's support helped form the NDA. The two parties, which fought Assembly polls together in Maharashtra and came up with 161 seats jointly in the 288-member House, fell out on the sharing of the chief minister's post and have since been attacking each other.

In talks with Cong-NCP

The Sena is in talks with the Congress and the NCP currently to form a non-BJP government in Maharashtra. In the editorial, the Sena said, "Muhammad of Ghor, said to have laid the foundation of Islamic rule in India, fought several battles with Hindu king Prithviraj Chauhan and the latter always spared him (after defeat). But when the invader won a battle, he killed Prithviraj Chauhan".

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"Even in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena has spared such ungrateful people several times and now they are trying to back-stab us," the editorial said, without mentioning the BJP by name. The editorial also lashed out at Sena being allotted seats on the opposition side in both houses of Parliament, as announced by Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday. Joshi had said the decision was made as the Sena's minister - Arvind Sawant - had resigned from the Union government and the party was "working out" an alliance with the Congress and the NCP to form the government in Maharashtra.

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Sena questions NDA

"Who decided our sitting arrangement when there was no meeting of the NDA held for the same? Earlier, Lal Krishna Advani was the chief of the NDA and George Fernandes was its convener. Who is the chief and convener of the NDA today?" the Sena asked in the editorial.

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It also asked if other constituents of the NDA were informed before the Sena was shown the door, claiming such decisions were earlier taken after all parties arrived at a consensus. The party pointed out that the date chosen to move the Sena to the opposition benches coincided with the seventh death anniversary of party founder Bal Thackeray (November 17). "This haste will result in some serious accident for sure," the editorial warned. The tirade continued with the editorial questioning whether the BJP had sought permission from the NDA before allying with Mehbooba Mufti's PDP in Jammu and Kashmir earlier or with Nitish Kumar's JD(U), despite it being well known that the Bihar chief minister had severely criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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"It is the beginning of the end of politics of arrogance. We promise you we will uproot you one day as you have challenged us. The heads of the party (BJP) today would have been kids when the Sena supported the BJP to form the National Democratic Alliance," it said.