Mohan Bhagwat for president, come and get our support: Shiv Sena

Party pitches for RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat as candidate and says Matoshree visit a must to lobby for support

Uddhav Thackeray

Following its current animus relationship status with the BJP, the Shiv Sena continues to derive pleasure out of needling the party on issues of substantive importance. After stealing its thunder in the three weeks of the Budget Session of the state legislature, the Sena has again put BJP in a corner over the upcoming Presidential election.

'Come to Matoshree'
Considering that the Sena commands around 25,000 total votes in the election, the BJP is desperate for the party's support to its candidate, but the Sena has dealt them a double whammy. Not only did Sena MP Sanjay Raut categorically state that Uddhav Thackeray hadn't received any invitation to attend a dinner of NDA partners in Delhi, insisting that lobbying for vote meant a trip to Matoshree, but he also suggested that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat could be a good nominee to progress the 'Hindu rashtra' agenda. Bear in mind that in the last two elections, the Sena didn't vote for the NDA candidates and went with Congress' Pratibha Patil and Pranab Mukherjee.

Aware that the NDA candidate is going to have trouble drawing votes from the southern states, Raut stated, "Matoshree hosts its guest with a warm heart. They should go there to meet our leader." Additionally, in view of Yogi Adityanath's elevation as UP chief minister, he said, "Somebody with a clean image should occupy the President's post. We have heard Mohan Bhagwat's name is being discussed. If India has to be made a 'Hindu Rashtra', Bhagwat will be a good choice for President. But the decision (to support his candidature) will be taken by Uddhavji."

Sanjay Raut

Defending Gaikwad
To rub salt in the wound, the party also defended the actions of its Osmanabad MP Ravindra Gaikwad who attacked an Air India employee with a slipper last week. On Monday, it told the Parliament that Air India and other operators should be taken to task for barring the MP from travelling. The Congress, in fact, supported the Sena and said it would demand a breach of privilege motion if the Sena tabled it against airlines. Ultimately, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan pitched for an amicable resolution of the issue. Though she did not categorically call for the lifting of the fly-ban on Gaikwad, she said, "MPs need to attend Parliament and they cannot travel by train always. At times, they need to travel by plane also. I am playing the role of 'tai' (elder sister). As of now, everybody is angry. It is time to calm down and resolve the issue. I feel that this issue (blanket ban) should be resolved amicably through talks."

Mohan Bhagwat

Farmers and loan waivers
Meanwhile, as the drama was unfolding, Thackeray took to Twitter to rant against the BJP government over the farmers loan issue. In a series of posts, Thackeray posed uncomfortable questions to CM Devendra Fadnavis asking why a farmer who had gone to Mantralaya to seek justice was being beaten up by the police. "If not any help, the farmer didn't even get a word of comfort. What is this?" he questioned, adding that the CM has already said no to a loan waiver. "Seems these are the acche din for the farmers."

With agency inputs

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