RULING PARTY MUST ENSURE NEW SEEDS OF DIVISION ARE NOT SOWN: SENA

MUMBAI: Days after Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi declared that August 14 would now be observed as ‘Partition Horrors Remembrance Day’, the Shiv Sena targeted the PM saying the ruling party must ensure that new seeds of division should not be sown. The Sena on Monday said that mere symbolism will not remove the pain of the Partition of India on August 14, 1947.

In a stinging criticism, an editorial in Sena mouthpiece, Saamana, further said like the pain of partition, displacement of Kashmiri Pandits was equally painful, but they have not returned to the valley.

It further added, “The pain of Partition will not go away by mere symbolism, but a definite action is needed... If displaced Kashmiri Pandits would have got their rights and homes in the Kashmir Valley, a lot could be achieved... Many Congress and Left leaders, who were involved in the freedom struggle and even staunch pro-hindutva leader Veer Savarkar was in favour of a two-nation theory. So was Hindu Mahasabha. BJP and Jana Sangh hadn’t seen its dawn then.”

The Sena, which shares power with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Maharashtra, through the editorial said only former prime minister Indira Gandhi managed to take “revenge” of the pain of partition by dividing Pakistan and destroying the “two-nation concept” on the basis on which Pakistan was formed.

AS A POLICY OF MAHA BJP, ITS SPOKESPERSON SAID THEY DO NOT COMMENT ON SAAMANA EDITORIAL