Amit Shah pacifies equal partner by lauding Bal Thackeray MUMBAI: BJP national president Amit Shah on Thursday tried to patch the widening fissures with Shiv Sena by calling on Uddhav Thackeray at Matoshree and lauding Bal Thackeray as an iconic leader of Maharashtra. But the conciliation was tempered with the admonition that there is nothing as bada bhai or chhota bhai in their alliance; The parties have to contest the polls as equal partners, he said. Shah on his first visit to Mumbai after taking over as party chief debunked the Senas elder brother theory while asking functionaries to start campaigning for the upcoming state assembly elections. We are equal partners and we have to contest the elections as equal partners, he told his party colleagues from Maharashtra earlier in the day, according to sources. He visited Matoshree late on Thursday, but only after Uddhav extended an invite on the telephone. Uddhav called twice on Wednesday, and Shah accepted the invite, said a key BJP functionary. Their meeting signalled that the two parties may still resume talks and hammer out a seat-sharing formula by September 10,mending ties that have been under considerable strain over the last month. Tensions had aggravated after Shah did not meet Thackerays emissary last week. The messenger was deputed to sort things out with the BJP president. So when the city BJP began preparations for Shahs Mumbai trip, the Sena was left red-faced. The resolution came when state BJP chief Devendra Fadnavis and Vinod Tawde made it clear to Sena strategists that Shah may pay a courtesy call to Matoshree only if Thackeray extended an invite to the party president. Rumblings in the alliance notwithstanding, Shah kept the focus on the upcoming assembly polls on the first day of his two-day visit to Mumbai. He said Maharashtra should herald parivartan (change) in the country by dislodging the ruling Congress-NCP combine from office. Addressing a party conclave at Shanmukhananda auditorium, he exhorted BJP rank and file to spread the partys message across Maharashtra. Fan out to villages, speak about Prime Minister Narendra Modis good deeds in the last 100 days, harp on the disastrous work of the Congress-NCP combine. Tell people about their scandals, which amount to Rs 11.88 lakh crore, he said. Striking a politically correct note, he made laudatory references to Chhatrapati Shivaji and Bal Thackeray. Paying tributes to the Maratha emperor not only for taking on the Mughals, but also for providing good governance, Shah declared, The BJP will bring this sushasan (good administration) in Maharashtra. By adding Bal Thackerays name to the pantheon of the states iconic leaders, the BJP president tried to pacify Matoshree. Maharashtra is the land of Saint Tukaram, Saint Ramdas, Mahatma Phule, Lokmanya Tilak, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar and Balasaheb Thackeray, he said to loud applause. He accused the Congress-NCP combine of perpetuating a corrupt and inept rule in the state. The list of the DF governments corruption is too long. It will take me seven days to cite details of their scandals, which amount to Rs 11.88 lakh crore in 15 years. They are a blot on the state. Uproot them. Praising Modi for his political sagacity and leadership, he said, Modi-ji is working at a supra-human level to take India to new heights. Good people in other political parties should join us. He welcomed NCP leaders Suryakanta Patil, Babanrao Pachpute and Bhaskarrao Khatgaokar Patil into the BJP. Earlier in the day, Shah was received at the Mumbai domestic airport by the partys city unit, led by Ashish Shelar, in a virtual show of strength. Drums, cymbals and bhangda lent colour to the event. In his brief speech there, Shah urged party workers to ensure that the Congress-NCP alliance is trounced in the state assembly polls. By throwing out Congress-NCP, Maharashtra will set an example which other states will follow. The BJPs Congress-mukta crusade will reach Tamil Nadu, he said.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 06:14:31 +0000
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