The Shiv Sena has stepped up its attacks on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Maharashtra government, releasing a booklet titled Ghotalebaaz BJP (scamster BJP) that lists a dozen alleged scams.
The party, an ally of the BJP in the state, distributed this booklet among its senior office-bearers on Wednesday during a meeting addressed by party leader Uddhav Thackeray at his residence, The Indian Express reported.
Among those named are senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse, who is accused in a land acquisition case, Education Minister Vinod Tawde, who has been accused of irregularities in procurement of fire tenders for schools, and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Mahajan, according to NDTV.
The BJP ally also alleged that companies blacklisted by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in Mumbai, which is run by the Shiv Sena, have been awarded contracts in cities where the BJP controls the civic body.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday told the Sena that it cannot play the role of a ruling party and opposition simultaneously, PTI had reported. “Some Sena leaders have developed the habit of opposing everything our government does,” he said.
The Sena, in an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamna, replied that the BJP could assess the partnership between the two parties and “leave it” if it was not satisfied. Party leader Sanjay Raut too named the BJP its principal enemy and said the Shiv Sena was part of the Maharashtra government “just for the sake of it”.
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