Two days after the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) offered unilateral and unconditional outside support to the BJP, the Shiv Sena lashed out at it saying that it was a brazen attempt to influence the would be government to the look the other way on alleged corruption cases against NCP leaders.
An editorial in Saamna , the Sena mouthpiece, demanded that the new government should proactively pursue the ‘corrupt position’ of senior NCP leader Praful Patel and other leaders in his party.
“Modi himself called it a Natural Corrupt Party. Vinod Tawde warned of sending corrupt leaders to jail. Keeping this in mind, it is crystal clear the reason why Praful Patel is bowing down in front of them,” it said.
“We expect transparent and clean State politics. The people loaded with corrupt mud will try to wash their sins in Ganga. We hope that their presence would not pollute the water. This position is in the interest of the state and that is the reason why we are presenting it. After all everyone has to take its own decision,” said the editorial, without naming anyone.
The NCP unsolicited offer to the BJP even as the election results were trickling in has considerably weakened the bargaining position of the Sena though it has won 63 seats in a hung House of 288 members.
Reminding the BJP on how Mr. Pawar made fun of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the editorial said that he had insulted RSS cadres as ‘half-pants’.
“Till yesterday, the same BJP was a communal party of those who wear half-pants. Mr. Pawar used it to make fun of them. And now Mr. Patel seems to have fallen in love with it. Has the duo of Patel and Pawar bought a new half-pant for them or have they decided to cut their own full-pant in to half?” asked the editorial.
