MUMBAI: Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde Saturday said it was unfortunate MNS chief Raj Thackeray was seeking votes for a party that had revoked the voting rights of late Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray.
Addressing reporters here, Tawde, a day after the MNS chief questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make in India' initiative at a rally in Mahad, said Thackeray's speeches are meant for "entertainment" and "time pass".
"People going to Raj Thackeray's rallies are saying they are attending them only for time pass and entertainment. But our party is not tourist talkies like MNS. The BJP is based on values and principles," Tawde said.
Further slamming Thackeray, Tawde said, "It is very unfortunate that he is asking to vote for a party which had taken away the voting rights of Balasaheb Thackeray." The cabinet minister also asked whether the Centre's demonetisation decision affected the MNS chief.
"Raj Thackeray is asking people to cast their votes for a party, which has not done any work for development of the country. This is political bankruptcy," he said.
Bal Thackeray was banned from exercising his franchise in the late nineties for six years after he was found indulging in "corrupt practice by seeking votes in the name of religion" at a public rally.
He had voted in 2004, after a gap of eight years. The ban period had expired in December 2001.
Prabhakar Kunte of Congress, who lost against a Sena candidate from Santacruz Assembly seat, had filed an election petition in Bombay High Court on the ground that Thackeray had sought votes on religious issues and thereby committed corrupt practice under provisions of Representation of People's Act.