September 11, 2020 4:02:19 am
On Wednesday, BMC demolished parts of Kangana Ranaut’s Pali Hill property in Bandra.
Aware that its aggressive cry for “Justice for Sushant Singh” in Bihar could trigger a backlash in Maharashtra, where Shiv Sena has portrayed the campaign as anti-Maharashtra, anti-Marathi and anti-Mumbai and its police, the BJP has been taking a nuanced line on actress Kangana Ranaut, distancing herself from her “Mumbai is PoK” statement, while condemning the demolition of parts of her office in Bandra on Wednesday.
“We never support your comment equating Mumbai with PoK. No one can support. But the government’s revenge for carrying out the demolition of her bungalow was not fair, ”said former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Clear directives have been issued to party leaders to make that distinction when speaking in support of Ranaut. Almost half a dozen BJP leaders have been deployed to counter the Seine in the ongoing verbal duel over the events related to Ranaut and Rajput.
The political militarization of the Rajput case by the BJP has led to speculation that another ‘Operation Lotus’, an expression used in political circles to refer to the BJP’s attempts to break up other parties to seize power, could be on the way. .
Narayan Rane, formerly a member of the Sena but now in the BJP, has demanded the governor’s rule in Maharashtra and made strong statements about the death of the Rajput and, a week earlier, of a Bollywood publicist. On social media, armies of trolls have targeted Shiv Sena’s scion, Aditya Thackeray.
BJP General Secretary Shrikant Bharatiya told The Indian Express: “The BJP is a pan-Indian party. Whatever position you have taken in the Sushant Singh Rajput case is based on merit. Similarly, he has not taken up Kangana Ranaut’s statement equating Mumbai with Pakistani-occupied Kashmir. But when the government demolished his office to settle political scores, the BJP raised pertinent questions about his action. “
The BJP’s stance on both the Rajput suicide and the Ranaut vs Sena dispute appears to be aimed at fanning the North Indian identities of the two actors ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections, while tarnishing their ally’s image. separate in Maharashtra.
The appointment of Fadnavis as Prabhari or Bihar Election Officer suggests this link. Bharatiya, however, said: “Fadnavis is among the most capable leaders, and his deployment in a state tied to the ballot box is part of the BJP tradition. It does not mean that it will be confined to Bihar or that it is outside of Maharashtra. “
While BJP insiders claimed that the Sena’s reactions to Ranaut suggested panic, it appeared that the Sena, the NCP, and Congress had only grown closer against the BJP.
The ruling coalition partners coordinated on the Assembly floor during the two-day session earlier this week to pass resolutions against Ranaut and Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami for denigrating Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of the PCN Sharad Pawar and the police. Maharashtra and Mumbai forces. Members of the Sena have also accused the BJP of trying to destroy Mumbai preeminence and separate Mumbai from Maharashtra.
However, after being reprimanded by Pawar for giving “publicity” to Ranaut, both the NCP and the Sena have dropped the rhetoric.
“The people of Maharashtra watch this episode of Kangana Ranaut as entertainment. It has no value beyond that. The people of Maharashtra think that all this is happening for the Bihar elections. There is nothing beyond that on this issue, ”said Maharashtra NCP President Jayant Patil.
And the Sena said that the Ranaut chapter was closed and that the responsibility for the demolition of its facilities rested with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
“The problem belongs to the BMC. Although the Sena is ruling in the BMC, there is a legal department in the BMC. The mayor or the BMC commissioner can speak about the demolition, ”said Sanjay Raut, senior spokesperson for the Sena. “It is a closed chapter for us. We have forgotten it and have returned to normal social and political activities ”.
The BJP has countered the Sena’s accusations by stating that Mumbai ‘best days were when Fadnavis was CM.
“The ruling coalition has returned to its old accusation that we are anti-Mumbai. We have heard this for decades. But Shiv Sena should know that it was Congress that wanted to separate Mumbai from Maharashtra. Congressional leaders wanted Mumbai to be a Union territory. Amazingly, the Seine is in alliance with Congress for power, ”said Atul Bhatkhalkar, senior BJP MLA.
While acknowledging the attempts of Shiv Sena and NCP to raise the Marathi pride flag, the BJP is aware that Mumbai is home to a large North Indian population, with which a “pro-North India” stance can find resonance. Even when the party was allied to the Seine, it worked for non-Marathi votes in Mumbai.
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