Having had its MLA disqualified for seeking votes in the name of Hindutva three decades ago, party sees red after Jain monk allegedly indulges in caste politics and sways his community to vote for its frenemy, BJP
Sena MP Sanjay Raut and Edu minister Vinod Tawde
Some three decades ago, Shiv Sena's elected member in the legislative Assembly was disqualified for seeking votes in the name of Hindutva and Sena founder, the late Bal Thackeray, disenfranchised for some years by the Election Commission of India for the same.
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And now, the party is seeing red over an alleged instance of the same in the recently concluded Mira-Bhayander municipal elections.
Crying foul
Yesterday, Sena leaders accused a Jain muni (monk) of fanning religious sentiments and using caste politics by asking his community members to vote for the BJP in the polls. The BJP has bagged power in the twin cities, pushing the Sena far behind.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut said the party had filed a petition with state EC against Naypadmasagarji Maharaj for appealing to the Jain community to vote for the BJP "to get rid of meat eaters".
"This monk is a terrorist. He is just like Zakir Naik (a televangelist declared absconding by Indian agencies). The monk should understand that he is facing the Sena. We want the government to take action against him and declare the (election) results invalid," Raut said during a press conference.
He called BJP's victory a result of "money and muni", adding that a video of the monk asking Jains to support the BJP was against a Supreme Court ruling as well as the model code of conduct.
Raut, however, maintained that his party wasn't against the Jain community. "We do visit Jain monks and seek their blessings. Even Balasaheb shared cordial relations with Jain munis. Results of the Mira-Bhayander polls show that the Jain community voted for us as well, because our eight Jain candidates finished second and one won against the BJP," he said, adding that attempts to divide people on religious grounds were unacceptable.
Same old story
Sena MLA Ramesh Prabhu was the one who had been disqualified by the apex court in the decades-old case, barred from contesting elections from 1995 to 2001 on the ground that he had sought votes in the name of religion in the earlier polls. Thackeray, as a result, had been barred from exercising his vote for the same period for seeking votes in the name of religion for Prabhu.
A former mayor of Mumbai, Prabhu had won the Vile Parle Assembly segment in Mumbai in a by-election in December 1987 and retained the seat during the 1990 polls. After remaining with the party for a few more years, Prabhu had unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls in Vile Parle as an independent in 2004. Later, he had joined the MNS. He passed away last year.
'We're proud of it'
Reacting to Sena's allegation, BJP leader and senior minister Vinod Tawde said if the people had responded to the muni instead of falling prey to (Gilbert) Mendonca's money, his party was proud of it. "This society still abides by the advice given by rishis and munis. And we're proud of the fact that they have chosen the BJP instead of goondas and criminals in the Sena," he added.
Mendonca is a former NCP legislator who ruled the twin cities before biting dust in the last polls. He had been in jail before joining the Sena recently.
Tawde said the senior Thackeray wouldn't have allowed a criminal like Mendonca to join the Sena.
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