AIMIM MP pokes MVA for alliance, Shiv Sena replies with 'bow before Aurangzeb' remark

AIMIM has a secret alliance with the BJP and this was proved in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal elections, the Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

Mumbai: The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen MP Imtiaz Jaleel on Saturday created a stir in the political circles by suggesting an alliance with the Maharashtra's Maha Vikas Aghadi to defeat the Modi government. Saying that the dispensation can become a "comfortable car" from the three-wheeled autorickshaw and can prevent the BJP from coming to power. Earlier on Friday, Jaleel had also said that the Asaduddin Owaisi-led party is not the ’B’ team of BJP as alleged by the mainstream parties.

"There is no power left in them (Shiv Sena) to defeat BJP single-handedly. That's why they need the support of Congress and NCP. I propose that let's add another wheel to the autorickshaw (of Maha Vikas Aghadi) and make it a comfortable car," Jaleel, who heads the Maharashtra unit of AIMIM, told a Marathi news channel.

Rejecting the suggestion, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday said, "Those who bow before the grave of Aurangzeb cannot become Maharashtra's ideal. The AIMIM has a secret alliance with the BJP and this was proved in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal elections. The AIMIM is a 'B' team of the BJP and will remain so. The MVA is a three-party alliance and there is no room for a fourth partner," Raut told the reporters.

Giving a historical reference, Raut further suggested that the MVA worships Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, while AIMIM 'bows before' his rival Aurangzeb. In the Hindutva narrative, Aurangzeb is portrayed as a fanatic who unsuccessfully tried to crush Chhatrapati Shivaji during his fight for the Swarajya and went down in history as one of his biggest rivals.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil also reacted to Jaleel's comment and said that the AIMIM was responsible for the defeat of several SP candidates in Uttar Pradesh, which consequently paved the way for the BJP to win polls. "The AIMIM should prove it can be considered a like-minded party and should give up its provocative language," he added.

Opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis also reacted to the comment suggesting that the parties should definitely go ahead with the alliance and that it is not going to make any difference to the BJP. "They are all the same. It will not make any difference to us (BJP) anyway. People of Maharashtra trust Prime Minister Modi and the work our party is doing," he said.

Questioning the Hindu narrative that the Shiv Sena has been following since the beginning, Fadnavis also hinted that the foundation of the party ideology seems to be dwindling. "They (Shiv Sena) have even stopped referring to Balasaheb Thackeray as 'Hindu Hriday Samrat'. Now he is 'Janaab' Balasaheb Thackeray. It will not be a surprise if they join hands. But they can't defeat us," he said, while speaking to a group of reporters outside the Nagpur Airport.