Mumbai: The rift in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Shiv Sena alliance is widening with each passing day and the latter has now put up a giant poster with pictures of BJP leaders bowing before late Bal Thackeray.
After mocking BJP, the Sena has removed the controversial poster. "We only put up posters to remember our old days. It is not to disrespect any political leader," said Sena's Rajendra Raut.
The poster has been put opposite Sena Bhawan and it read did you forget those days when you bowed before the Sena chief.
The Sena has been embarrassing the BJP-led government by carrying out protest against Pakistani nationals visiting the state. On Monday, Sena workers stormed the BCCI office and sloganeering against the BCCI chief Shashank Manohar and his Pakistani counterpart Shahryar Khan. The event led to deferring of talks between BCCI and PCB over a possible India-Pakistan cricket series.
Earlier, Sena workers attacked ORF's Sudheendra Kulkarni and smeared his face with black paint in protest against organising former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's book launch in Mumbai.
Early in October, threats by Sena led to the cancellation of Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali's concert.
Cracks started appearing in the alliance ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi expanded his Cabinet and did not include any Sena MP and unable to reach seat-sharing formula in Maharashtra Assembly elections resulted in parties breaking the 25-year-old alliance.
Recently, the Sena was sidelined by the BJP after it did not invite party president Uddhav Thackeray for Modi's functions in Mumbai. Modi laid the foundation stone for Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's memorial at Indu Mills in Dadar and conducted 'bhoomi pujan' for two new Metro lines at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), where he also addressed a rally.
The invitation was sent only at the 11th hour and Uddhav decided to visit Marathwada to review the drought situation there.
With new episode unfolding almost everyday in the BJP-Sena alliance, it is to be seen whether the alliance will be able to survive the test of the time.
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