File photo of Shiv Sena Chief, Uddhav Thackeray
Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray today took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's promise of "achhe din" during the 2014 general election campaign. Sena is BJP's alliance partner in Maharashtra and the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre.
In an interview to Sena's mouthpiece publication, Saamana, Mr Thackeray said, "People's sentiments have to be kept in mind, and their faith in us cannot be broken. You (the BJP) had promised 'Acche Din' to people and thus cannot cheat them now,"
Though governments have changed at the Centre, Mr Thackeray said that ground realities remain unchanged, BJP led NDA came to power in May last year.
The 54-year-old leader said, "Every morning when we open a newspaper, we keep reading the same news that once bored us...The thought which comes to our mind is that we used to read the same news before. Be it farmers' suicide, protests of the unemployed people, crimes against women," he said.
When asked on BJP's alliance with the People's Democratic Party (ODP) in Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Thackeray said, "I do not have personal enmity with anyone but what stand did you (BJP) have on Mufti Mohammed Sayeed before (election)? How can you forget his style of politics? If Kashmir progresses, it is good. But bringing in a change does not mean giving the state a big financial package. People there should be turned back towards India."
The Sena and BJP have had an uneasy alliance for the past year, Sena has often criticised the BJP on various issues related to Maharashtra and the Centre. Last week, the regional party had accused the BJP of neglecting its allies and had demanded the post of NDA convenor, according to sources.