Shiv Sena cadres put up posters depicting Amit Shah and BJP chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari dressed in attires of characters from Bollywood movie "Sholay". (File Photo)
Highlights
- Shiv Sena cadres burnt an effigy of BJP city unit chief Ashish Shelar
- They also put up posters mocking Mr Shelar and BJP chief Amit Shah
- Mr Shelar had written article daring ally to take a 'divorce' from power
The strain in the relationship between ruling allies Shiv Sena and BJP grew further on Tuesday with the Uddhav Thackeray-led party putting up posters mocking BJP president Amit Shah and setting afire the effigy of the party's city unit chief Ashish Shelar in South Mumbai.
Taking a stern view, the BJP warned its belligerent ally of giving a "fitting reply" if Shiv Sena leadership fails to rein in its cadres.
Escalating the confrontation, Shiv Sena cadres put up posters depicting Mr Shah and BJP chief spokesperson Madhav Bhandari dressed in attires of characters from Bollywood movie "Sholay".
The effigy on Mr Shelar was put on fire, days after he gave a veiled warning to Shiv Sena to keep away from burning effigies of BJP leaders.
The latest provocation was Mr Bhandari's recent article in BJP publication "Manogat", which has not gone down well with Shiv Sena.
In the write-up, Mr Bhandari dared Shiv Sena, its sulking ally, to take "divorce" from power and compared Mr Thackeray with a famous character of a jailor in "Sholay".
In a sharp reply on Tuesday, state BJP secretary and legislator Sujit Singh Thakur said, "BJP remained calm for past few days even after repetitive provocations from Shiv Sena workers. If anyone is taking it otherwise, they should understand it clearly that the BJP is strong enough to give a fitting reply".
Taking a strong objection to burning of effigy of Mr Shelar, Mr Thakur said, "We too can resort to burning effigies or burning newspapers. But, we have kept quiet keeping in mind the larger good. But, no one should test our tolerance. If Sena leaders don't control their workers, they would be entirely responsible for any reaction arising from BJP workers".
He stated that BJP would henceforth not tolerate any derogatory remarks aimed at its national leaders. Some BJP leaders had recently called for burning of copies of Shiv Sena mouthpiece "Saamana" for pouring vitriol on BJP every other day. However, Shiv Sena in an editorial condemned the BJP leaders' statement, saying that all those who want the daily to be burned were attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ideology.