The Shiv Sena on Monday slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party by claiming that those who are crying hoarse over the grave of Yakub Memon, executed for his role in the 1993 serial blasts, were "hiding in burrows" during the Mumbai riots.
In an editorial in party mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena claimed it had borne the brunt of the 1993 serial blasts, an apparent reference to a bomb going off near Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar.
It was the Shiv Sena that came forward to protect everyone during the time, it added.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena were involved in a slugfest last week over the ”beautified’ grave of Yakub Memon, with the BJP claiming it had happened when Uddhav Thackeray was Maharashtra chief minister. The BJP had sought an apology from Thackeray.
The Shiv Sena, on its part, had said it had nothing to do with development and was being unnecessarily dragged into the controversy.
"It was the Shiv Sena that bore the brunt of Mumbai riots and bomb blasts. At that time, today's torchbearers of Hindutva were hiding in burrows. Those doing politics on Yakub Memon today were never part of that battle,” the editorial said targeting the BJP.
The party also slammed Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was Maharashtra chief minister when Memon was executed (in July, 2015), for not burying his body in Nagpur jail where he was executed.
Instead, Memon's body was brought to Mahim (where he resided) and from there a huge procession was taken out to the Bada Qabrastan graveyard, the Saamana editorial pointed out.
The Sena said had Memon's body been disposed of like Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in Tihar after his hanging, the issue (of the grave) would not have come up.
The Saamana editorial said the issue of Memon's grave was being raised when the state was facing natural calamities and farmer suicides.
