Mumbai: Senior BJP leader and Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde Saturday said it was unfortunate MNS chief Raj Thackeray was seeking votes for a party that had revoked the voting rights of late Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray. Addressing reporters here, Tawde, a day after the MNS chief questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ initiative at a rally in Mahad, said Thackeray’s speeches are meant for “entertainment” and “time pass”.
“People going to Raj Thackeray’s rallies are saying they are attending them only for time pass and entertainment. But our party is not tourist talkies like the MNS. The BJP is based on values and principles,” Tawde said. Further slamming Thackeray, Tawde said, “It is very unfortunate that he is asking to vote for a party which had taken away the voting rights of Balasaheb Thackeray.” The cabinet minister also asked whether the Centre’s demonetisation decision affected the MNS chief.
“Raj is asking people to cast their votes for a party, which has not done any work for development of the country. This is political bankruptcy,” he said. Bal Thackeray was banned from exercising his franchise in the late nineties for six years after he was found indulging in “corrupt practice by seeking votes in the name of religion”.