Shiv Sena says no to stir, but slams BJP

MUMBAI:A day after the Shiv Sena decided not to support the Congress-led Bharat Bandh against sky-rocketing fuel prices, the party continued its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in its mouthpiece Saamana, saying people would overthrow the government in 2019.

On Monday, while the Opposition parties took to the streets to protest, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray shared the dais with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to release a postal stamp of Siddhivinayak Temple.

The Sena has been facing flak for its dual stand of attacking the BJP and sharing the dais with its leaders. Although Thackeray declined to speak to the media after the function, which was held inside the temple in Dadar, party spokesperson Manisha Kayande defended the party calling it “a non-political event”. “It was a pre-scheduled event of the temple trust before the bandh was announced. As it was a nonpolitical event and Sena had not supported the bandh, it should not be viewed through political lens,” she said.

In the editorial, the Sena said, “Inflation is hurting people. In 2019, they will burn down the empire (Lanka) of the ones in power today,” the editorial said, adding the Opposition was “asleep” for the last four years and has now woken up. “We have taken up issues within the government. We have carried the mantle of the Opposition till date,” it said.