Was Ghulam Ali’s concert a victim of Sena-BJP rift?
Ghulam Ali’s concerts in Mumbai and Pune might have been victims of the widening rift between the Shiv Sena and the BJP, which was much evident in the social media throughout the day.
Shiv Sena’s stand not to have any kind of cultural or sports related engagement with Pakistan, is not new. But, their raised voice against Ghulam Ali might also have an element of their differences with the BJP over several issues.
The latest point of contention between the two parties is the Ambedkar memorial at Indu mill. The BJP is trying to take all the credit for the memorial, where Bhoomipoojan is scheduled to take place at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Though the official invitations for the function at the MMRDA ground at Bandra have not yet been finalised, speculation is rife that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is being deliberately kept away from all the official functions that day.
The official list of dignitaries released by the BJP office does not have Thackeray’s name. The list says that the function would be in presence of Union minister for urban development Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister for surface transport Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for social justicee Thavarchand Gehlot, Union minister of state for textiles Santosh Gangwar along with ministers, minister of state, MPs, MLAs from Maharashtra and the mayor of Mumbai city.
While BJP sources say that as it is an official function and party has no role to play in who should be part of the programme, Thackeray is said to be visiting Marathwada that day to oversee drought relief initiatives taken up by local Shiv Sena units. Party officials said that his programme was pre-planned.
This also means that Shiv Sena MP, MLAs, Mayor and even ministers too might keep away from the PM’s public functions.
A senior BJP leader said that Sena’s absence from the function would help the party more to reap political benefits of the programme in Bihar elections, where Shiv Sena is contesting against the NDA.
Modi’s dislike towards the Shiv Sena began when the latter decided to field candidates in Gujarat assembly polls way back in 2007. The bitterness grew when Modi reciprocated by not visiting Thackeray’s residence Matoshree and addressing a massive rally at Shivaji Park. Since then both the parties have hardly left a chance to needle each other. Threats for the organisers of Ghulam Ali’s concerts in Mumbai and Pune too might have been a part of this. Modi’s rally on Sunday is only expected to widen the rift further.