MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena has now raised voice demanding that the Pakistani and Bangladeshi infiltrators should be driven out. Interestingly, the party that always advocated the feat and took initiative in the direction during its rule in the state between 1995-99, raised the demand just a couple of days after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray declared his support to the Modi government over the eviction of Bangladeshi and Pakistani infiltrators.
“The Muslim infiltrators from Pakistan and Bangladesh should be driven out of India. There should be no doubt about that. But it is amusing to see a party changing its flag for it,” the Sena said in an editorial in party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Saturday while taking a dig at the MNS for ideological shift. It also taunted him saying that having two flags showed the confused state of mind.
Sena criticized Raj Thackeray for adopting Hindutva saying that dealing with the ideology as propagated by V D Savarkar and late party founder Balasaheb Thackeray was “not a child’s play”.
“Dealing with the Hindutva of Savarkar and Balasaheb is not a child’s play. But we are large-hearted enough to welcome those who take a pro-Hindutva stand. Even if the ideology is borrowed, it is pro-Hindutva. Go ahead if you think you can do it,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party said.
It added that the MNS is unlikely to achieve anything from its new Hindutva stand as Shiv Sena had never shed its saffron colour.
“The Shiv Sena had already done a lot of work on the issue of Marathi. Hence MNS did not get any response from Marathi people. There is a criticism that Raj Thackeray has turned towards Hindutva as BJP wanted it. But MNS is unlikely to achieve anything on this front also as the Shiv Sena has done a lot work on Hindutva across the country,” it added.
Hitting out at the MNS chief for stating that the Shiv Sena had changed its colour to become part of the government, the party said such comments show the “political bankruptcy”.
“Those who say this should check the masks and multi-coloured make up on their own faces,” it said.
“Raj Thackeray has now backed the CAA and will take out a march in its support. But a month ago, he had a taken different stand. He had then said that the new law is a move to divert people's attention from important issues like economic slowdown,” it said.
During his speech on Thursday, Raj Thackeray had defended the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and also announced that the MNS would take out a protest march on February 9 seeking eviction of illegal migrants from Pakistan and Bangladesh.