Modi team is like Afzal Khan's army, Uddhav Thackeray says

PUNE/SOLAPUR/MUMBAI: Escalating his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray on Monday equated Modi and his central ministers with the army of Bijapur general Afzal Khan and asked voters to ensure the defeat of the BJP which, he said, was “conspiring to break the state into pieces.”
“PM Modi is here in Maharashtra to campaign, and his ministers are joining him.It seems like the army of Afzal Khan is intruding to win the state,” Uddhav said at a rally in the holy town of Tuljapur in Osmanabad district.
Afzal Khan was a chieftain of the Adil Shahi kingdom of Bijapur who came to Maharashtra in 1659 with the aim of defeating Chhatrapati Shivaji. He tried to kill Shivaji during an embrace but was killed himself when the Maratha leader pulled out his tiger claws.
Uddhav asked people not to succumb to Modi’s development talk. “Don’t fall prey to that. They (BJP) are here to break the state by wearing the mascot of development. They are conspiring to divide Maharashtra,” he said.
READ ALSO: If not for Sena, Gujaratis would’ve fled in 1992, says Uddhav Thackeray
The Sena also targeted Modi for doing nothing to save the saffron alliance.
In an editorial on Monday, its mouthpiece Saamna pooh-poohed Modi’s claim, which he made at a poll meeting in Tasgaon near Sangli on Sunday, that he would not be critical of the Sena as he held the late Balasaheb Thackeray in respect.
“Where did the respect vanish when the 25-year-old Sena-BJP alliance, a well-knit and strong partnership nurtured by Balasaheb, ended only on the issue of sharing of seats?” Saamna asked.

Uddhav Thackeray at a Shiv Sena election rally in Kolhapur. (TOI photo by Ashish Shankar)
This is a clear indication that the Sena has foreclosed all options of a post-poll partnership with BJP, said observers. MNS chief Raj Thackeray, too, has been severely critical of Modi for his pro-Gujarat leanings and for clearing the decks to relocate scores of industrial units from Mumbai to Gujarat. The Thackeray cousins are likely to close rank and raise their decibel level on Modi in the final phase of electioneering, said political experts.
“If flexibility was shown (by the BJP) while determining the share of seats and had the Sena-BJP alliance continued, that would have been a true tribute to Balasaheb,” the Sena morninger commented.
Uddhav, in Tuljapur, accused the BJP of “using” the Sena to garner votes in the Lok Saba elections. “The BJP used us, and then they felt their strength had increased. They felt they could kick out the Sena as their task was complete. But people in the state are not going believe in any humbug. They will be with the Sena,” he said.
READ ALSO: Something is cooking between betrayer BJP and NCP, Uddhav Thackeray says
Later, speaking in Akluj town in Solapur district, Uddhav said, “At any cost I will not bend before New Delhi’s pressure. I will resist it. The Sena will prove its mettle.” He added that the state BJP was faceless and dependent on Modi. Saamna poured ridicule on Modi’s constant reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji. “Those who never celebrated Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the Maratha king, are now marketing the Chhatrapati’s blessings. The soul of Shivaji Maharaj must be watching this farce with a sense of regret,” remarked the saffron daily.
During his poll tour in the state, Modi repeatedly referred to the fabled king in his speeches. Speaking in Mumbai last Saturday, the PM said he was proud to stand on Shivaji Maharaj’s “sacred soil”. Moreover, the state BJP’s poll catchline talks of the blessings of Shivaji.

Uddhav Thackeray (left) with Narendra Modi during the Lok Sabha election campaign in Mumbai earlier this year when the Shiv Sena and BJP were allies.
But Saamna suggested the BJP was playing the Shivaji card with an eye on the polls. “If the BJP is honest about Shivaji, why do its leaders keep mum on the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute?” Saamna asked.
Modi’s obeisance to Shivaji is in contrast with the BJP’s crusade to carve out a separate state of Vidarbha. “The BJP has entered the poll fray with a dream to break the unity of Maharashtra... They can’t lay claim to Shivaji’s blessings and Shivaji’s blessings will do them no good,” added Saamna.
Meanwhile, Raj Thackeray’s MNS continued to target the BJP for its ‘Gujarati links.’ “Ask any BJP leader and he will tell you that dhokla is spicier than vada pav, khakra sweeter than puran poli and garba finer than lavani. It will not be surprising if tomorrow Modi states that Surat will be the capital of Maharashtra instead of Mumbai and all these Khadses, Shelars, Tawdes and Munde-Palves will agree. They are all consumed by the Modi-Shah ghosts,” said MNS spokesperson Shirish Parkar in a press release.
“Gujarati blood is seeped in business, and this has now been established. Maharashtra is not a thing but has feelings, thoughts, a tradition and a legacy which they should not forget,” said the release.
The MNS spokesperson warned in the press release that “Modi had experienced the friendship and generosity of the Marathi ‘manoos’ on May 16 and will now experience his anger on October 19. The Marathi spine is not soft like the dhokla. The Modi-Shah duo will realize this after the elections.”