Shiv Sena's target is BJP not Muslims: Maharashtra BJP leader

NEW DELHI: BJP sees Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut's editorial in party mouthpiece Saamna — calling for a disenfranchisement of Muslims in India as they constitute a "vote bank" — as one in a series of signs that the Sena is frustrated at having most of its political platforms hijacked. Though officially BJP and its state government dismissed the editorial as something which went against the Constitution, insiders in Maharashtra BJP were quite clear that it was aimed not at Muslims but BJP.

"The Constitution guarantees universal adult franchise to all citizens of the country, and BJP stands by the Constitution," said party secretary Shrikant Sharma. MoS for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said on twitter: "India is not a jungle of Talibani thinking. It's a garden of human values, fundamental principles. Polluted air of hatred can't affect it."

A senior office-bearer of Maharashtra BJP said, "We have hijacked both the Hindutva and ‘mi Marathi' platforms of Sena, and since they don't enjoy the big brother position in the state alliance anymore, this is a manifestation of its frustration."

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has been pro-active on Hindutva-related issues like ban on cow slaughter and the promotion of Marathi language films on prime time slot and erection of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji.