Where was respect for Bal Thackeray while ending ties: Shiv Sena asks Narendra Modi

New Delhi: The Shiv Sena has gone all guns blazing at the Bharatiya Janata Party despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to take on its erstwhile ally out of respect for Balasaheb Thackeray. In its mouthpiece, Saamna, Sena has accused it of trying to divide Maharashtra and breaking the 25-year-old alliance to benefit businessmen close to senior BJP leaders.

Making these allegations in Sena's mouthpiece, party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut asked, "Do the BJP leaders want to carve Vidarbha out of Maharashtra to fulfill wishes of seth-sahukars?"

"Sena would never let anyone divide and weaken Maharshtra, so, did BJP break alliance with Sena to fulfill wishes of sahukars," he asked.

Referring to Gujarat Chief Minister Anandi Patel's recent trip to Mumbai where she tried to woo investors out to Gujarat, Raut in his column alleged that this was possibly an attempt to curb the growth of Maharashtra.

Raut added that Gujaratis probably chose to stay put in Mumbai since they had been protected by the Shiv Sena during 1992 riots.

The column referred to shifting of RBI offices and economic activities out of Mumbai. Also pointing out that Air India's operations had been moved from Mumbai to New Delhi, Raut alleged that certain businesses were moving out of the economical capital while outsiders close to BJP leaders were gaining foothold there.

The column hinted that some 'netas from Delhi' were behind the Sena-BJP split and all this became possible only after Amit Shah, a Gujarati, was appointed as the Bharatiya Janata Party president.

'Maharashtra is wondering why Narendra Modi did not intervene to save the alliance," Raut asked while questioning PM's respect for Bal Thackeray.