Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray mounted a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government yesterday by pleading all opposition parties to unite so that the Prime Minister’s BJP government can be ousted from power in next year’s general elections.
Addressing party workers and supporters at Mumbai’s iconic Shivaji Park on the festive occasion of Gudi Padwa, Thackeray said parties must unite to ensure a ‘Modi-mukt Bharat’ following 2019 elections along the lines of BJP’s popular ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ slogan.
The MNS chief said India got its first Independence in 1947, second one in 1977 (following post-Emergency elections that threw Indira Gandhi out of power), and now 2019 can bring a third Independence if people of India vote out BJP and make the country ‘Modi-mukt’.
Turning his attention to the functioning of the central government under Narendra Modi, Thackeray said any enquiry ordered into November 2016’s demonetization will reveal that it was the biggest ever scam since 1947. Attacking BJP’s Maharashtra government next, he said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ claims of digging over 50,000 wells in the state are false as an ISRO report says the state is currently facing almost as much desertification as Rajasthan.
The MNS chief also mentioned the politically-sensitive Babri Masjid case of Ayodhya in his speech by saying that he backs construction of a Ram Mandir there, but it should not be used for electoral gains and votes. He said the issues is expected to be deliberated by certain parties extensively now as the Supreme Court is presently hearing the case.