Firing another salvo at ally the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday took a dim view of its senior leaders for their extravagant praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by making him a "God", warning it is the ‘bhakts’(devotees) who would eventually get politicians into trouble.
Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu recently sang his paeans to the prime minister calling him as "God's gift to India". Naidu's ministerial colleague Radha Mohan Singh also used a similar description while praising Modi.
In a sarcastic note, the Sena also asked if the emotional call the Chief Justice of India Justice T S Thakur made on Sunday for increasing the number of judges to tackle the mounting number of cases could be termed as an "achievement" of the Modi government.
"Senior BJP leaders are issuing statements that Modi is an 'avtar' of God. Since he has been made a God, there is bound to be a temple and festivals in his name. A Ram Temple may not be constructed in Ayodhya but there will be 'shlokas' chanted in the name of this new God," the Sena said in its mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
The BJP should remember that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi spent a lot of money on advertisements, but eventually lost power after the 1975-77 Emergency, it said.
"It is the bhakts that eventually get politicians and Gods into trouble. This has been so from the time of Mahabharat to the present political situation in Delhi," it said.
"The Chief Justice of India broke down in front of the prime minister (while making an appeal to increase number of judges). Should this be considered an achievement of the Modi- led government?
"Thirty-three per cent of the country is reeling under drought and areas like Marathwada (in Maharashtra) and Bundelkhand (a backward region spread across MP and UP) have become desolate and appear like burial grounds. Government schemes have not reached there even in two years. This cannot be termed as a failure of the previous government," it added.
"What happened to the pre-election promises of bringing black money back, taming inflation, ending corruption? How can we say these are the achievements of Modi government?" the Sena organ questioned.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led party is an ally of BJP-led governments in Maharashtra and also at the Centre. 'Saamana', a Marathi daily, has been critical of several policies and decisions of the Modi Government, ranging from its stand on Pakistan to Uttarakhand political crisis.
