Sena MP rues BJP's stepmotherly treatment, calls for introspection

Accusing the BJP of giving it a stepmotherly treatment, the Shiv Sena on Thursday said though it was a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), it was not sure whether it will continue in the future. Participating in the debate on motion of thanks to the President's address, Shiv Sena leader Anandrao Adsul said his party was once a happy NDA ally but now it wasn't being treated well.

"There was a good time when the NDA had leaders like Bal Thackeray, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and Pramod Mahajan. We were allies of a party that followed the Hinduism ideology. We were happy then. But then we started getting stepmotherly treatment. We are still there, but no one knows what will happen tomorrow," Adsul told the Lok Sabha. The Sena leader said Bala Saheb Thackeray had formed his party on his own strengths and its president Uddhav Thackeray was also following the same.

"Our leaders founded the Shiv Sena not for making an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)," he said. Adsul's remarks come at a time when there is growing tension between the old allies. The Shiv Sena has been critical of the Modi government on various issues.

Advising the BJP to introspect, he said, "Think about the recent elections in three states. If you have committed mistakes, there is need to correct them." Expressing his dissatisfaction with the President's speech that lauded the Modi government's demonetisation move, the Shiv Sena leader termed it "disastrous" as it didn't help any farmer, trader or consumer.

"It didn't help bring back the black money. He should've accepted his mistake," he said. The Sena leader, however, praised government initiatives such as Swachha Bharat and Ayushman Bharat.

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