Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election rally in Gondia, Maharashtra, on Sunday. — PTI
PM says he honours Bal Thackeray with his silence on Shiv Sena
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that he had immense respect for the late Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray and therefore would not criticise Shiv Sena, a statement that is seen as an attempt to blunt the Shiv Sena’s accusation that the BJP has betrayed Bal Thackeray by breaking their 25-year-old alliance. Mr Modi, however, did not mince words while berating NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had said Mr Modi and the BJP had suddenly woken up to the fact that Chhatrapati Shivaji was from Maharashtra.
Berating Mr Pawar for talking about Shivaji, Modi said, “Pawar claims that Shivaji is of Maharashtra, but in his own Baramati constituency the statue of Shivaji is much smaller than the one we have in Surat. I want to ask Pawar what he did when he was the chief minister of Maharashtra. It was the Vajpayee government that renamed the airport in Mumbai and Victoria Terminus after Chhatrapati Shivaji.”
On Sunday, all speculation on whether the Modi wave was still active was put to rest at Tasgaon as only about 20,000 people were present to hear Modi’s address. This being Mr Modi’s first rally in western Maharashtra, local leaders waited to ascertain whether the voters had turned against them in favour of Mr Modi and the BJP. However, those fears were put to rest as large parts of the ground remained vacant and a very small group of women was present for the speech.
Regardless of the empty spaces, Mr Modi started his speech in Marathi by paying his respects to Chhatrapati Shivaji and then thundered away, targeting the NCP as it was the constituency of former state home minister R.R. Patil. Questioning the work done by NCP leaders, especially party chief Sharad Pawar, Mr Modi said the farmer suicides every year in the state was indicative of the fact that the former Union agriculture minister did not use his post to find a solution to the problem. Referring to the closure of numerous sugar mills in Maharashtra, Mr Modi said there was something amiss and that this, coupled with the suicides, showed the inefficiency of the government. “I am amazed. Pawar was the Union agriculture minister. But in his Maharashtra, around 3,700 farmers commit suicide every year,” Mr Modi said, adding, “There is no chance of you (Mr Pawar) getting Shivaji’s qualities in your character.”
“But as agriculture minister at the Centre, had you implemented Shivaji’s water management techniques, farmers of Maharashtra would not have committed suicide,” the Prime Minister said. Mr Pawar had attacked the BJP, saying that the people who had termed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj a “looter” were invoking the warrior king to seek votes. “Stop challenging our Shiv bhakti,” Mr Modi said.
Mr Modi also slammed the NCP chief for his comments about Shivaji “plundering” the treasury of Surat. “Pawar’s statement has hurt me deeply. You don’t have a knowledge of history. Gujarat was part of Maharashtra prior to its formation in 1960. We have considered Maharashtra as a big brother,” he said. At a recent rally, Mr Pawar had said, “They never even celebrated Shiv Jayanti and suddenly they have realised the importance of Shivaji Maharaj. All this is for votes only.”
Thanking the people for the victory in the Lok Sabha elections Mr Modi urged the people to give the BJP a clear mandate again. “Both the Congress and NCP are corrupt and are responsible for destroying Maharashtra, but I am willing to take the responsibility of ridding the state of corruption if you elect a government with a full majority,” said Mr Modi.