In a stark contrast to his stand on the BJP chief in the past, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray came out in support of Nitin Gadkari after India Against Corruption (IAC) leader Arvind Kejriwal accused Gadkari of misusing his political connections to further his business interests.
In an editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, Sena chief rubbished the claims made by Kejriwal and Anjali Damania. Thackeray said compared to the hype generated by the IAC activists there was no substance in the allegations made against Gadkari and hence, would not affect Gadkari.
Thackeray said the IAC seemed to be going in the right direction when they had made allegations against Robert Vadra, however, in case of Gadkari, the IAC tried to tarnish his image without making out a strong case.
He said like the barren land given by the government to the body floated by Gadkari, the charges against him made by Kejriwal and company were also ‘barren’. Absolving Gadkari of any wrongdoing, Thackeray said, “Allegations made by Kejriwal against Gadkari were only to throw muck on the BJP chief. Gadkari has not committed any theft, dacoity or manipulation in the stock market,” said Thackeray in his editorial.
Thackeray cautioned Kejriwal that if he continued making wild allegations against people like Gadkari, he would find himself roaming the streets of Delhi like a mad man. He said Kejriwal was following on the footsteps of his mentor Anna Hazare, who, too, would frequently make baseless allegations. Thackeray, who in the past never missed an opportunity to criticise Gadkari, seems to have tuned a new leaf as he praised Gadkari. Once Gadkari himself admitted in an interview that the party was not happy with views expressed through the ‘Saamana’ editorials on the BJP. Thackeray said the BJP Chief is one of the few leaders in the Opposition who has been putting up a fight against the Congress on an intellectual level. He hinted that one of the reasons for Kejriwal’s expose could be power struggle within the BJP, as it may have been an attempt to prevent him from getting a second term as BJP president.