Look at achievements, accept truth: BJP on Sena's photo war

Mumbai: Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday asked alliance partner Shiv Sena to look at the "achievements of  Modi government and accept the truth", a day after it launched an aggressive poster war against BJP, ahead of the 2017 BMC elections.

Amid growing confrontation between the saffron siblings who share power at the Centre and in Maharashtra, Sena had put out a picture of a tiger, the party emblem, mauling a lion in its party mouthpiece "Saamana".

The Sena has also put up posters in Ghatkopar Assembly constituency of BJP minister Prakash Mehta saying, "the cat (BJP minister) will have to be shown his proper place", responding to a remark made by the minister.

Posters put up in Mehta's turf showed a tiger (Sena) ready to pounce on the cat (Mehta), with the caption: "The cat thinks it is a lion. The artificial mask of this lion will have to be taken off."

Commenting on the poster war, Prasad said, "I would hope that they look at the constructive achievements of the Modi government honestly and accept the truth."

On the uneasy relationship between the two parties, the minister said that the Sena has been an "old friend" and also a coalition partner at the Centre.

The Union IT and Communications minister, who is in the city as part of efforts to mark the NDA government's two years in power, said the Sena minister in the Union government (Anant Geete) is performing well.

The photo published in "Saamana" on the day the Modi government celebrated its second anniversary had an interesting caption which read: "This photo from Africa shows a tiger killing a lion trying to trespass into his territory.

Territory always belongs to the tiger. Nobody should dare to cross it, even if it's a lion. The Tiger will kill him. It's the tiger's game and the tiger's rule."

Though the picture doesn't make any specific reference, the allusion is apparent.

Mehta had recently talked about ending the rule of 'tiger' (Sena always equates itself with the tiger) in Mumbai.

The saffron combine has been ruling the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), with Sena being the major partner, for more than two decades.

Against the backdrop of NIA dropping charges against 2008 Malegaon bomb blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh and five other accused, Prasad said, "the UPA government had sought to politicise the investigation and a senior minister was also forced to withdraw the saffron terror statement".

Asserting that the NIA chargesheet is based on "proper evidence", Prasad said, "As far as our approach is concerned, we don't see terror with any colour".